Age of Nox
by shamrock920
Summary: Starting from the end of PB. Jack is not going to stay put, no matter what anyone does. Course she runs into the last person Riddick would want her to run into and of course, she teams up with said person. NOT JackRiddick. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, it all belongs to the Riddick universe. Any character created is a creation of mine, but I state no claim to any part of the Riddick Universe. **

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 1**

"You gotta be freaking kidding me," Jack harshly whispered to herself when she rattled the locked windows to her room. She had tried the door, all the windows, the air vents and even any loose tiles on the floor. Riddick must have been clear to Imam that she was not one to under estimate.

He had left three hours earlier and she had been trying since then to get out of her locked room. Now the tears were dry, but she was still stuck. He hadn't left her anything of his, not a shiv, not his goggles, not one thing. She doubt he left anything to Imam either, except maybe his future location.

Dragging her hand over her shaved head, that was now growing a soft fuzz, she let out a frustrated yell. This was not how it was supposed to be. Not by any stretch of the imagination. He was supposed to take her with him and they would be together until…something unavoidable happened.

"What a dumb fairytale ending." She muttered, walking to the door. She loudly rattled the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. How the hell had Imam locked it anyway? Jack cursed her inability to pick locks and decided that was one of the first things she would learn how to do. Sure she was decent with ship computers and fake I.D.'s, but she sure as hell couldn't pick a damn lock.

"IMAM! I WANT OUT!" She shouted, smashing her tiny curled fists onto the wooden door. "THIS IS CHILD ABUSE!" She added, slumping against the door, feeling defeat.

So she was surprised when a small note came through the bottom of the door, in a flowing handwriting she could only guess was Imam's. She snatched it up, making sure to loudly curse the fading footsteps in the hallway. Jack snatched it off the floor, not really wanting to read it.

_Dear Jack, do not be angry with what Mr. Riddick has done. You know that he only wants to see you safe and that safe is not with him. Please reconsider your actions of trying to break out of my home. Also my door handles are antique, so please restrain your…frustration. My child, I cannot let you out until you promise to stay. And Allah frowns upon those who do not keep their promises. _

"Fuck this," she crumpled the note and tossed it to the side of her room. She didn't have any possessions, just the clothes she was wearing. Jack had refused to wear anything but those, so Imam had cleaned and mended them. It didn't matter that they were memories of T2, they were hers and it was all she had.

Jack found a scissor in one of the drawers of a small desk and went to the window. Wooden frames that held glass. She couldn't break it, that would be too noisy. Jack knew she didn't have much time until Imam would check on her, so she got to work fast. Grabbing pillows from the bed, she arranged them on the floor around her and got to work.

Aiming the scissor at the middle of the frame, she hit the handle of the scissor with her open palm, quietly cracking the wood. She did this three more times and without resistance, out was one pane of glass. She laid it on the pillows and continued her work, easily taking out the rest. Without a backwards glance she slipped through the window and onto the balcony.

Jack didn't take time to welcome the fresh air, she jumped over the balcony and landed quietly on the ground below. The packed sand of the street hurt her feet, but she stood up and started running. Jack was glad to see that no one was around.

**So, here is the start of a new story. Now, this story will be a reader-based story, so yes, I do take your opinion into account when I write the next chapter. This also means that either a) you guys comment pretty fast so I can get the next chapter up or b) be patient while I get reviews. **

**Keep in mind, I will not do this for every chapter.**

**New direction of the story – Do you want:**

**a) Toombs**

**b) Mercs**

**c) Bad things happening to Jack **

**Hope you all are going to like this and in the future, the chapters will definitely be longer. **

**-Shamrock**


	2. Chapter 2

**There was a large push towards Toombs. Closely followed by Jack getting into bad trouble. No questions this chapter, but not all is lost. And yes, Toombs is in this chapter. Personally, I'm a fan of Toombs. Not saying I dig the side burns, though. **

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 2**

What the hell was she doing out here?

Jack stuck to the shadows, torn between pushing forward and going back to Imam. Growling, she pushed forward. There was no way she was going back to him. And he couldn't do anything about it. He didn't know New Mecca that well, so he couldn't go out and find her. Nor could he contact Riddick because Riddick was traveling and Jack knew that he would at least need a month staying out of any contact before it was safe.

She rolled her eyes when her stomach grumbled. As annoying as it was, she had to do something about it. But she ignored it for the time being, making her way down the dark street and doing her best to stay blind the more then questionable people she saw. All the same, she couldn't help but snicker when she had to step over a few passed out drunks in the street.

A few feet away, Jack stopped. They were passed out. With their wallets unguarded. She shook her head, that was not right. As desperate as she may be, she had her own ways of finding money that didn't resort to stealing plastered people's wallets. But didn't mean she couldn't take any weapons.

About five minutes later found her with a small belt that had a decent-sized blade in a sheath hanging off it. The man who had been wearing it had been larger then her around the middle, so she had cut off the extra length and wrapped it around her wrist. She figured it would come in handy at some point. Either way, the black leather strip that went all the way up to her elbow looked pretty cool.

Feeling better, she went to see what she could do about some money. And food.

"Mother fuckin' sons of bitches!" He kicked a wall of his ship, cursing again when he hurt his foot. But that was the least of his problems.

His crew had abandoned him, as well as screwed up all his systems in his ship, making it impossible to even move an inch. Hell, they had even shut off the hot water, basic electricity and the heating systems. Growling, he ran his taped hands through his messy black hair, wishing that he had some extra cash to find a brothel.

He laughed at that.

Brothels? In New Mecca? Ri-fucking-diculous.

He didn't have enough money to even pay for repairs. To top it off, he couldn't even repair it himself. His various crews had always told him to be self-reliant, but at the time, he had a crew. What the hell did he have to worry about?

In the mean time, he kicked up his feet and linked his hands behind his head. As he watched the rain begin to fall outside the ship hanger, he realized things could be much worse. He could be dead.

"You're kidding me. Rain!" Jack exclaimed to no one. It didn't matter if she could have found shelter - she was soaked in seconds.

Thankfully she had bound her chest before she left Imam's home, so she still looked something like a boy. God, who the hell would help a cross-dressing homeless kid? Jack began to shiver and knew she had to get somewhere dry.

She spied a ship hanger, one of the cheapest in New Mecca. Riddick had told her that.

Jack snorted. What a friend _he_ turned out to be.

She jogged into the huge open doors, taking a moment to drip on the dry concrete. Still shivering, she took a few steps forward and looked around. It wasn't long until she had spotted some supply crates and went to those, figuring she could hide and rest there for a while.

"Look what the rain washed in." He smirked. Perhaps part of his new crew?

But before he could even consider that, the tell-tale sound of power dying echoed in his ship and the emergency lights turned off.

"When I get my hands on those fucking pussies, I will tear their throats out!" He snarled, getting up and physically forcing the exit hatch down. Having no idea what noise he was making, he was just pleased when the hatch finally let loose and clanged to the ground, giving him freedom.

At the grating noise, Jack poked her head up over one of the crates, raising an eyebrow. Finally a man forced himself out of the ship and she tilted her head. Observing people was fun, and right now, that's all she had to do.

He wasn't short, not by any means. Nor was he out of shape. In fact, he was well-muscled and if he took a shower, maybe even good-looking. His terribly cut short hair conveyed his attitude towards the world and Jack kind of liked that. She briefly wondered what attitude bald people were trying to convey. Smirking, she continued to watch him, trying her best not to giggle when he cursed at his ship. Upon closer inspection, Jack admitted to herself that if he shaved off those mutant sideburns, kept the scruffy goatee and didn't mess with his hair, he'd be quite attractive.

What could she offer this guy? He seemed to be without any sort of help, or money for that matter. Nor did he seem to trust anything that breathed. She could definitely work with him.

Jack stepped out of her hiding place, her clothes still wet, but not dripping. So it wasn't hard to approach him without him realizing it. But he was busy trying to glare his ship into working to even register that it was raining, so anyone could've done it.

"I can fix it." She spoke suddenly and he whipped around, but she didn't flinch when he had a blaster aimed right at her face.

"Fix it?" He asked, his voice sarcastic.

"Your ship." She clarified, letting out a short breath of air. "And you don't need to pay me."

He laughed. Threw his head back and laughed, but found it safe enough to holster his blaster. Still chuckling, he stepped towards her, looking her up and down. A devious smirk was held in the bluest eyes Jack had ever seen.

"I ain't stupid, what's the catch?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"House me, feed me and I'll keep your ship in the best condition." Jack set the terms. She had to be firm.

"Whoa, back up short stuff. You sound like you wanna be part of my crew." He glanced back at his ship. "No one can fix that piece of shit, so just run on home and next time you run away, find better boy's clothes."

Jack was not going to stand for this. And he had just turned his back on her. Oh no, she was not going to let _this_ slide.

"So I'm a girl. What are you, threatened?" She shot at him and that turned him around. "Let's get this straight. You don't have a crew, I don't have a home and these are the only clothes I fucking have. And I can fix that ship."

The man had a fleeting look of concern.

"What's your name?" He asked, face blank.

"Jack." She replied shortly.

"Name's Toombs, little lady. Get your skinny soaked ass into that ship and get fixing." He gestured roughly into the ship and Jack was in it before he could even turn to walk to the ramp himself.

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! More Toombs next chapter and maybe even some bad things happening to Jack…you all are creepy. I kinda like Jack not-hurt. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 3**

Toombs groaned.

This bed had never been quite comfortable. He was sore and naturally grouchy, especially now that the lights were on full and glaring him into wakefulness.

The lights were on.

Electricity.

With a grunt, he quickly got out of bed and stumbled through his small room. The door shut behind him and he remembered how the previous night Jack had hay-wired the door system of his door so he could get in. With a stupid grin on his face that looked predatory, he sauntered through his small ship. He had electricity. Probably had running water and other such necessities, too.

What he was surprised to see was Jack curled up on the floor, sleeping on the thin emergency blanket. Sure he didn't give a damn about her well-being, but he wouldn't have the genius who just fixed his ship sleeping on the floor. Besides, the floor probably wasn't clean and other things could be there. Like a new crate of helkin.

Ah, helkin. Shorter name for the Kin of Hell, helkin was an alcohol that could knock out any good drinker in a few sips. It was Toombs' favourite and he didn't care that it was expensive. But in the mean time, Jack was taking up space.

"Hey, man-girl, up." He nudged her with the toe of his boot and froze when a blade was suddenly very close to beneath his belt. Too close.

"Oh," she put down the blade. "Morning Toombs." She mumbled and went back to the floor, looking like she was going to sleep.

"Get up, Jack." He ordered and with a glare that could've rivaled his, she stood, looking sleepy and mussed. "There's a plate on the outside of the ship I want you to check."

"Fucking hell, I just woke up." Jack snarled, but slammed her hand onto the open hatch button and stalked down the stairs, not realizing that it closed behind her. "What plate, Toombs?"

He smirked and walked back to the front of the cockpit, kicking the blanket away. Sitting down, he activated the microphone that led to the outside of the ship.

"If I'm not going senile, I believe I housed you, fed you and let you fix my ship. Now get the hell outta my sight, punk." He shut of the microphone.

Jack was furious.

How dare he?

She refused to stand here and look like a fool, so Jack turned and walked away, not sparing a glance back. She could feel the smug arrogance emanating from the ship and wanted to throw up. No wonder Riddick hated mercs. Then again, she doubted he had ever tried to be in a merc's crew, much less talk to them in a reasonable fashion that didn't include shivs.

Sighing, she kept walking, wishing she had a better coat. She didn't even have a sweater to pull tighter around her so she wrapped her arms over her thin frame. Jack was a few blocks away from the hanger by now and knew she couldn't be happier if she never saw Toombs' stupid grin again.

But now she needed a job. And a place to stay. Cursing Toombs one last time she turned the corner. Too late she saw the advancing shadows and a damp cloth was pressed over her nose and mouth. She couldn't even begin to struggle before she felt consciousness leave her.

Imam struggled.

He knew Riddick had told him not to contact him until a month or so had passed. He would be light years away by then so it wouldn't be that dangerous but Imam was not sure in this situation. He had been devastated when he went into Jack's room and found the panes of glass carefully laid out on pillows on the floor. No note, no trace left of her. Surely his note was found crumpled and tossed to the side of the room, but he knew at least she had read it.

A sleepless night had gone by and he was sure that she would return. He would scold her and then hug her, glad to have her out of harm's way.

Yet in his heart of hearts he knew that she was no different than Riddick. She was a beast indeed, but still a young one that needed training and guidance. He himself was not the man to do this and Riddick had backed away from the responsibility, claiming it was too dangerous for her to be with him. While he wanted her to be safe, Imam also hoped she would find someone who could help her. Teach her, even.

Tapping his fingers against the cool stone of the balcony, Imam struggled. What was he to do?

An entire day had passed.

Toombs had done a quick and dirty job, pulling in just enough cash to power up his cells and get out of New Mecca. Sure assassination wasn't his thing, but when it paid, it was worth it. But he was still sitting in the hanger, staring at the open doors. He had assured himself he wasn't expecting Jack to walk through those doors, tail between her legs, looking for his help. While he would've teased her, he would've been secretly glad to have her back.

New Mecca might be a holy city, but every city has its criminals.

He wasn't worried. Honest to the panties of the Virgin Mary herself, he was not worried about that punk. He still didn't know how to fix his ship so he needed someone to do that for him. Jack was the perfect option. And he was definitely not worried about her, not at all.

_Well_, he mused, lighting a cigarette, _not yet. _

Wherever she was, it was night.

Jack groaned, a sense of soreness and aching taking hold through her body. She vaguely remembered being carried, dragged and tossed somewhere, but that was it.

Then it hit her.

Clips of conversation flitted through her memory and she caught onto enough words to know that she was now in the slave trade of the universe. She was going to be slaved out. Some sick bastard was going to pay for her and use her to his content, probably making her walk nearly naked around his lavish home with a collar around her neck. She had heard the stories alright, definitely knew what was going on.

She shut her eyes tightly, willing any tears back. She wanted comfort. This wasn't a time to pretend she was all strong and brave because she knew she really wasn't. Jack knew she needed to be saved. She wanted to be the damsel in distress, no matter how unflattering that image may be. Jack opened her eyes and choked back a sob, the ankle and wrist shackles roughly chafing her. She struggled, feeling the bite of the rusty metal. Perhaps if she was scarred no one would want her and she'd be killed. That would be infinitely better then being slaved out.

The door to her dark room banged open and she closed her eyes again, wishing to anything that it was someone to come save her. But as she was dragged by a strong grip on the shackles, Jack whimpered. She was alone in this.

"Fuck." Toombs shoved the pawing prostitute off of his arm and growled at her, making her scuttle off in her stiletto heels. He couldn't stop thinking about that stupid girl. Jack. He tried to take off his mind by listening to other conversations and he locked onto one.

"-so, heard a new one was brought in this morning."

"Yeah? Oh! Heard about this one. Some mother fucker with a weird fetish is gonna like that creepy bitch."

"Seriously, don't know how many buyers are gonna be interested in a chick with a shaved head." The first one replied and they both laughed.

_"God damn!" _Toombs slammed down his glass, not caring that it shattered in his hand. He fisted his hands as he stormed out of the bar, the glass shards slicing through tape and skin. He still didn't feel it.

He didn't even realize he was running until he stopped in front of the back door to one of the larger slave trading hubs in the city. Toombs charged in, pushing through the line of well-dressed men who were eyeing boys on show.

He was disgusted.

Scantily dressed boys exhibited themselves in windows to the men who waited on line. There were a few girls but they just tried to ignore the drooling stares, looking away. Toombs barely took notice, but snarled at the man working behind the key desk.

"Take me to the stock rooms," Toombs nearly roared at the smaller man.

"You'll have to wait in line…" he faded off when a blaster was leveled at his forehead. "Fine!"

Toombs didn't holster it until someone approached from behind the man and nodded towards Toombs. Still holding his blaster, he followed the other man through red hallways that changed into steel walls with prison doors. Toombs glared at the man's leather duster that was split down the back from the high thigh down, making it flap like a dead fish. They finally stopped at one.

"We just changed her cell." He drawled, lazily finding the key.

"You fuckin' pussy," Toombs gave him his patented sarcastic look of hatred and kneed him in the groan, grabbing his silky hair (that he noted was pulled back into a pony tail) and smashing his face against his knee.

He was satisfied with the crack and the groan as the man fell the floor. Toombs was about to open the door when he glanced at the leather coat again.

Jack could barely stay awake.

They had drugged her with something, definitely something to make her sleep. But she fought to stay awake, especially when she heard a struggle outside.

But soon she was asleep, wishing she could scratch at the dried blood on her wrists and ankles. It would scar, but at this rate she didn't think she'd be alive to even see the scarring. Her eyes drooped again, unable to stay open even when her door was roughly wrenched open.

"Toombs, you piece of mother-fucking shit!" He cursed himself when he saw her on the floor. If she had looked unhealthy with her clothes on, she looked near dead with them off. Most of them, anyway.

Taking his blaster, he carefully aimed and shot the cuffs, cursing when pieces of it shattered and sliced into her already bloody skin. He hurriedly covered her with the coat, buttoning a few of the clasps to keep her bruised body hidden from view. Trying not to hurt her even more, he eased her up into his arms and walked out of the cell.

**What will happen next?**

**Your decision! **

**a) something will happen to Toombs on the way back to the ship**

**b) Jack won't wake up**

**c) Imam stumbles upon the two/Imam contacts Riddick **


	4. Chapter 4

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 4**

**There was a push for a) and b), so I'll be working it all in at some point, no worries. Edit: there seems to be a push for ALL of them, so I don't know what to do, but I'm going to work in a bit of each?**

Jack stirred in his arms when he was walking away from the slave-house, her eyes flittering open before closing again. A quiet moan made its way to his ears and Toombs went faster. If the temperature of her body through the coat was saying anything, it was that she had a fever and it wasn't going down.

He had no trouble getting into his ship, but made sure to lock the door hatch behind him. The slave-traders would not be pleased when they heard their new profit had suddenly disappeared. Toombs hoped that the small beat up session he had with Mr. Pony Tail would keep him unconscious. The longer silky hair took to wake up, the longer the traders would have to wait before they knew who had come in.

The leather coat was set aside and he messily rearranged the emergency blanket on the floor. Jack laid there, mumbling incoherently. With a few trips to the bathroom, he was cooling her off by wiping her body down with cold strips of cloth, pausing when she shivered at the touch. The fever went down he and stayed awake long enough to make sure it was staying down. Another trip later and he was cleaning her wrists and ankles, glad to see that no stitches were needed. He wrapped them regardless before slipping on an oversized shirt over her thin form.

He shook the thoughts from his head of his long ago dreams of having a woman who would willingly walk around in his clothes and be happy with him.

Toombs sat back on his heels and watched her small form steadily breathe. He didn't like what was happening to him, but he didn't think he could avoid it at this point either. The girl had surely made a near parasitic investment in him, but she might not have realized. When he had been wiping her down, he saw scars. Not by any means suicide leftovers, but it made him wonder. That lightning bolt of a slash down her right hip bone made him curious and with further investigation, he found many other scars, some nearly faded. Along her arms, as if she had been blocking something incoming from above and then there were a few just covered by the fuzz on her head. Her back wasn't flawless, either, but he did wonder at the strange scars around her feet and ankles. They weren't the ones from the slave-house, but older ones. How did someone get hurt there?

Standing, he groaned at the soreness in his legs from kneeling for so long. Toombs grabbed the leather coat and laid it over Jack, making sure she was covered. She shifted slightly, but soon was motionless again.

He heavily sat in the captain's chair and swiveled it around to watch Jack. Before he could even think about trying to stay awake, his eyelids drooped and he was snoring minutes later.

Jack awoke to being carried.

Didn't feel like Toombs arms, though. Cracking open her eyes, she gasped when she saw who it was.

"Riddick!" She exclaimed and he just glanced at her. "You're back, you said you were leaving for just about ever and you're back! Where are we going?"

He stayed silent.

"I know it looked like I signed up with a merc, but I swear it wasn't like that. I wasn't even part of his crew!" She began to squirm, she wanted to walk. She jumped when he tightened his grip on her, bruising her.

They turned a corner. Jack thought they were in New Mecca. Looked like it, anyway.

"Riddick! Stop! Let me go!" She struggled and with a snarl he tossed her over his shoulder. Jack realized in shock that her wrists were cuffed. Trying her legs, she realized her ankles had been cuffed as well. What the hell was going on?

Jack yelped when she was roughly tossed down onto the ground. She looked up at Riddick who had a predatory look in his eyes that she had never seen. She had seen him angry but this was frightening. His eyes blazed at her as he advanced and a smirk played over his lips.

"Don't scream, kid." He growled, pulling out a roll of tape and ripping off a piece. She tried to move away but he grabbed her neck hard and forced the tape over her mouth. "I know what you wanted, Jackie girl, I know."

That's when it hit her.

He was going to rape her.

She seriously began to struggled and screamed, not caring that it was muffled by the tape. Just as he reached for her shirt, he grunted as he was smashed in the head with the butt of a blaster. Through tears Jack couldn't see who it was and she backed away, trying not to whimper. A fight ensued and Jack saw that Riddick lost, but he wasn't dead, just knocked out.

Someone approached her and knelt in front of her, gently taking off the tape and the cuffs. She could barely moved when she felt rough hands hold her face carefully, thumbs wiping her tears away.

"He ain't gonna hurt you, okay? Got 'im right where it hurts, he'll be down for a while. C'mon, up we go." He lifted her into his arms and Jack let her head rest against his chest. She looked up at him and was captured by the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen.

"Yeah, Jack, it's me, Toombs."

Gasping, Jack shot awake, trembling in an embrace she couldn't identify. Turning around, she gripped onto the person's shirt, holding it as tight as she could. When she was calm enough to hear the voice, she could breathe easier.

It was Toombs.

"Hey kiddo, it was just a freaky dream, that's it. Calm down now, I don't do the tears thing," he grumbled, but pulled her onto his lap and let her sit there.

They sat in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Toombs was glad she was awake, she had been out for a long time and he hadn't been sure if she was going to wake up. Jack was confused by the dream and wondered how much did Toombs know about.

"Don't worry, that guy scares a lot of people. Riddick's a creepy dude, won't lie about that." He commented and Jack froze. "What? His name scares you?"

She shook her head.

"Just reminds you of your dream then?" He asked and she nodded, not wanting to give anything away.

"Like I said, just a dream." He rubbed his hand over her head and was surprised by the near immediate purr he received. She was relaxing and that's all that mattered.

Though he wasn't too keen on having to sit on the floor for this long.

Toombs winced again.

"For chrissakes, Jack! That fuckin' hurts!" He tried to pull his hand away, but her grip was steely.

She had seen the embedded glass in his hands and flipped out, so he let her clean him up. But she was meticulous and slow, paying attention to every part of it. It was driving him crazy. And it hurt like hell.

She had finished with one hand and was slowly un-taping the other, careful around the bloodied parts. Toombs had to admit that her method fascinated him and he was more focused on her then on the pain.

"Why do you tape your hands?" She asked suddenly, tightening her grip on his hand as she used the wiping alcohol swab over it.

"For gripping shit." He replied and Jack laughed.

"Gripping shit? What are you gripping that needs tape?" She pushed him further, the question finished by the clinking of another shard glass in a small metal dish.

"Ship controls, guns, handles…like I said, gripping shit." He returned and once again tried to pull his hand away. "How the hell do you do this anyway? Would take me hours to get one shard out."

Her face darkened in memory and she kept working. He knew he had walked into locked territory and was hoping that he didn't screw it all up. They were just starting to get alone and he had just saved her ass from the slave trade.

"My father." Jack started, sighing. "He would need this same sort of help all the time. My mother was an alcoholic, a violent one at that. She would come home every night and fight him, but he loved her. He never hit back. Never once did he hit back. One day, the cuts were set in with infection and he had a fever. She came home roaring, ready to beat him with her beer bottle. I told her what had happened and she blamed me for all the fucked up shit in her life and began to beat me. She smashed the bottle over my crossed arms," she showed Toombs the scars on her arms, "took another one and threw it at my feet," she motioned to the scars he had been wondering about earlier.

"My father woke up when I screamed and was furious. He told me later he saw red when he realized what had happened, so he pushed her into a closet and locked it. He gave me all the money he had and told me to get the hell out of there." She finished, packing up the med supplies.

"Your parents love you?" He asked, not sure where it came from.

"Probably. But my mother was too drunk for me to know and my father was busy finding ways to get the money she had spent on booze." Jack stood and watched Toombs stand, but his look was different. "You?" She moved, gathering up the bloodied cloths and swabs.

"Garden variety orphanage boy," Toombs replied, his voice and demeanor back to normal. "You should get some shut-eye."

"With wounds I prefer to stay awake," she said without turning to face him.

"Gonna get nightmares?" He knew he didn't need to ask. She nodded anyway. "Hey," he had no idea where he was going with this. "You calmed down like a virgin drinkin' helkin when I held you."

She didn't reply, but tossed the trash into the incinerator. Jack knew that he was right, if someone held her while she slept and that her inner self could trust that person enough to sleep, then she wouldn't have nightmares. But he had saved her ass, she didn't expect him to be the teddy bear guardian. Jack smirked. With that scruffy facial hair he would be a porcupine, not a teddy bear.

"Thanks, Toombs, but I know you'd rather spend some of the extra cash on whores and booze. Anywhere I can rest that isn't the floor?"

"My room, down the hall, door in your face." He replied, not surprised that she knew exactly what he wanted to do. But it didn't feel right, he should stay here. Before he could do otherwise, he heard the door slide shut and her body thump onto the bed.

"Toombs! Hey dawg, how's it hangin'?" The bartender greeted him.

"Like shit, Benny, like shit. What'd you have tonight?" Toombs sat on a barstool, across from Benny. He was the bartender of the best bar in New Mecca. Well, the best merc bar.

"If you got cash for helkin, I can serve you up a shot." Benny whispered, leaning over the counter. "Booze is gettin' hard to ship round New Mecca. Those religion dudes are crackin' down on the 'sinful business'."

"Religion dudes?" Toombs asked, a sneer evident. He'd never been one for prayer. Praying was not instant cash, which was what he handed over to Benny, barely able to sit still knowing a flame of helkin was waiting for him.

"Totally, this one guy, glasses, robes 'n shit, came in here a while ago. Wait, but he wasn't lookin' for trouble bout booze, never mind." He poured the drink and handed it to Toombs who watched it near lustfully.

"Nah, tell me Benny boy, I'm in the mood." He almost didn't want to drink it, wishing he could save it instead. But he sure as hell needed it now. But what Benny said almost made him spit out the drink when he had tipped it into his mouth. Luckily, he swallowed it down, but the words had made the burn all the worse.

"Say what!" Toombs yelled.

"Whoa! Just said he was lookin' for a girl who looked like a boy. Said her name was…no, wasn't Ace…oh, Jack! Yeah, said it was Jack. Shaved head 'n shit. Come to think of it, that was the description those dudes," he pointed to a corner table in the back of the bar. "gave when they were lookin' for someone that had been kidnapped. Weird, think they're lookin' for the same kid?"

"Don't be a shit brain, Benny, they're slave traders. Tell me bout this other guy, the religious one." Toombs took a pint of beer now.

"Name was Imam, pretty up-to-do name, I asked around after he left. Big hubbub about him, miracles and that sorta crap." Benny was wiping down the bar counter. "Toombs, you gotta get off this shit planet, it's too good for our likes, you know?"

"Yeah, I mean, what's a planet without a brothel?" He sipped his beer and Benny laughed.

Imam closed his eyes and prayed. Allah would lead him onto the right path. His quiet chanting mixed with the incense as he begged to be steered into the direction of divine goodness and away from sin.

He also prayed for Jack.

**Lot of stuff happened in this chapter and I had issues working in the choices. But, consider this Chapter 4, Part 1. Next one will get better, I just had to get this out of the way. Besides, six pages is a long chapter. **

**-Shamrock**


	5. Chapter 5

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 5**

His eyes snapped open.

He didn't know what was wrong, but he knew something definitely wasn't right. Growling, he checked his distance from New Mecca and with brief argumentation with himself, he linked through to the comm system.

"Allah be praised!" Imam's voice crackled in through the link when it was made.

"What is it, holy man?" He growled.

"I prayed to Allah he would set me on the right path and he has. Oh Mr. Riddick, there is trouble afoot." His voice trembled with a fear.

"Save the literature for someone else. What the fuck is goin' on?"

"It is young Jack. She is gone. Escaped through a most genius matter, though. Mr. Riddick, she is very angry with you. And me, undoubtedly."

"She's gone?" His voice tightened. That scrape of a kid he saved had disappeared. "Still on New Mecca?"

"Jack? I know not, but while I was searching for her I heard that someone of her description was recently caught up for the slave trade. Mr. Riddick, I fear for the worse." His voice sounded sad, but Riddick didn't quite care.

"Look holy man, I can't drag my ass back there. She's gotta deal with it herself anyway, what the hell is she gonna learn by having me save her hide every time she gets into shit?" Riddick sat back in the seat, furious. He knew he should have brought her with him, she was a time bomb that could create some serious damage. But he would be running from mercs, so she'd get into serious shit by hanging with him.

"Mr. Riddick!" He glanced up, he had never heard anger in Imam's voice before. "She would learn that she was not alone! Have you no idea of her past? Yes, I have not the smallest fear that she is able to survive alone, but that was all she had before Hunter-Gratzner! When she met us, no, when she met _you_ she thought she was no longer alone. She was safe."

"Well times change and so do people. I won't be the protector of her, she's got to grow up and it's happening now. I am _not_ going back there. I get the longest time alone while the mercs still think I'm dead. I want to use that for myself, not for chasing after some kid who can't sit still!" He was nearly yelling now.

"Your selfishness will cause you pain later in life!" Imam shot back, his voice solid with faith.

"What's the worse she can do?" Riddick asked.

"So you're going to let me stay?" Jack asked, watching Toombs paw through the bare supplies of meds. He squinted at one bottle before tossing it back into the cabinet.

"You can bet on it." He mumbled, cursing the hell the empty bottle of painkillers. "You're a smart kid, how the fuck do I get rid of this headache?"

"It isn't a headache," she grabbed his hand and dragged him to a seat, forcing him to sit. "It's a hangover and those are wildly different."

"That ain't fixin' my headache, sweetheart." Toombs nearly snarled back. He was in pain.

"Just shut up for a few minutes." She replied, then added, "close your eyes."

He didn't care what happened, just as long as the damned pain in his head went away. But he was surprised when he felt her fingers begin to apply pressure to the sides of his head. Toombs knew that the pressure should've made it hurt more, but instead it made the headache go away. She slowly worked her way to applying pressure in different places and shook her head when she saw Toombs was near asleep.

As his eyes drooped, he remembered waking up earlier.

_He had fallen asleep sitting on the floor. Why the fuck wasn't he in his bed? Then again, he couldn't even remember how or when he got home from drinking. A voice that had been quiet all his life was speaking in his head again, and he knew it was the voice of morality and shit, but it just bugged the hell outta him. But the voice had nagged at him that his drinking would probably bother Jack, but she wouldn't show it. _

_Jack. She was in his bed. That's why he was on the floor. _

_He stood, groaning as joints popped. Toombs walked to his bedroom door, making sure it slid open quietly. Standing in the door, he watched Jack sleep. _

_The sheets and blankets were all over the place, but she managed to keep all of herself on the bed. He wondered if she knew that the position she was sleeping in was the one he slept in, too. The only difference was that she held onto the pillow, holding it like a stuffed animal or something. She looked peaceful. _

_Pushing himself off the frame of the door, he walked to the side of the bed and wondered how and if he should wake her up. Probably. _

_"Wake up, Jack. I ain't gonna tiptoe around this ship all day. Wake the hell up." He snorted when she flipped around, facing her back towards him. _

_"Lemme alone, Tums." She was clearly too tired to even speak properly. _

_"It's **Toombs**, not Tums!" He exclaimed and she finally sat up, sending him a not so nice glare. _

_"Christ almighty, you shit. What time is it?" She rubbed her eyes and he raised an eyebrow. _

_"Think that you're pickin' up bad language from me." He moved aside to let her stand, grabbing her elbow to steady her when she wobbled. Looking up at him, she smiled tiredly. Toombs tried not to tell himself he would never get tired of seeing her smile. _

_"Aren't you just a bundle of intelligence?" She quipped, walking out of the room. _

_But he sure as hell wouldn't mind getting tired of that mouth of hers. _

"Hey, Toombs, wake up!" She smacked his head and he startled awake, snarling at her. His headache was gone, but he had been enjoying his rest.

He turned around, meaning to snap at her but chuckled instead. She looked ridiculous.

The slave-house had taken her clothes, she was forced to wear his. Everything was too big for her, from the black pants to the long-sleeved shirt he had tossed her at head this morning. Jack scowled at him, but then realized how funny she must've looked to him.

"Toombs, I wanna get outta here." She suddenly said, standing next to him.

"You gettin' sick of New Mecca, too?" Toombs looked up at her and was inwardly surprised at her cold look.

"Yeah, and the fact that there's a group of angry looking guys carrying guns headed our way. Look like the slave traders." She motioned out the window and Toombs cursed.

"Strap in, we're dustin' this place." He quickly started up the systems. "Screw askin' for permission. Hold on." He pulled out the small ship, cursing the men who were firing at it. But nothing short of a laser would hurt his ship, so he wasn't too concerned.

A few rocky minutes later found them outside of the Helion Prime atmosphere. Jack looked white as a sheet, but Toombs was laughing. He had escaped another unpleasant situation and with a flare of style. When they had lifted off and were high enough, he turned the ship with a 360 that looked beautiful. Jack had nearly gotten sick, though.

"Jackie! How cool was that?" He was still very pleased with himself.

"Never," she wheezed, "do that again."

**Time to vote again!**

**a) Jack and Toombs bonding time that could involve training, learning or just chatting**

**b) Toombs gets into some serious trouble at their next stop**

**c) Imam gets wind of who it is that Jack is with and sends a message to Jack **

**Hope you all are enjoying the story.**

**-Shamrock**


	6. Chapter 6

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 6**

**Note: This will be one of the chapters where I will get through only half of the choice. So most people voted for A, but I won't thoroughly get through it. Chapter after this will be another voting chapter. **

Jack was on her back and under the main controls desk in the cockpit, a small flashlight held by her teeth and her tools spread around her. She heard Toombs go in and out of the cockpit, his heavy boots stopping every once in a while, as if listening to her work.

She was upgrading his systems with a few basic changes in wiring, but it looked like this ship hadn't been updated in years. Jack could barely recognize some of the configuration of the wire packs. At one point she had to take a break and her stomach quickly agreed with her. As she slid out from underneath the desk, she looked up to see Toombs critically watching her from above.

"You'd better not fuck up my ship, got it?" He glanced at the desk below and internally shuddered. He had no desire to know what was happening beneath the metal.

"I'm doing updates that should've been done maybe _years_ ago, Tums, so you can pull that tazer out of your ass," she snipped back at him. He growled at her new nickname for him. She was wiping the saliva-covered handle of the flashlight on her shirt when she glanced up at him, wanting to catch him off guard. But he always had that look of cold sarcasm, a sneer just waiting to be unfurled, the same way a wolf was always ready to bear its fangs.

"Hey, you have anything to eat? I'm starved." She passed by him, going straight to the small room that barely qualified as a kitchen. "Do you just not eat? I don't see anything here!"

"Oh just shut it." He yelled, abandoning the control panel and following her steps. Toombs leaned against the side of the door, grinning as she pawed through the cabinets. "Sit down, I'll find something."

Jack gruffly shuffled over to a counter and pulled herself up on it, wondering how Toombs ever managed to find linoleum in this day and age for the counters. She was preoccupied as he cursed, sniffing various foods that weren't very identifiable. He tossed a box of dried something at her and left the room.

"What crawled up his ass and died?" Jack grumbled to herself, locking the bathroom door. She glanced at the bottom of the door and considered jamming it – just in case Toombs decided to be more of an ass than he already was.

But she had bigger problems to worry about. Literally. There was no way she could pass off as a boy without binding herself and even then it wouldn't work. Jack winced. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be a girl just yet, but it didn't seem like time was giving her that small blessing. One glance in the mirror told her that it would be a few years until she would be a formidable opponent to other women. That was comforting, but since she was little, she had thought it wouldn't really ever happen.

How wrong she was.

"Alright, I'll give you some cred chips, get your…clothes and whatever the hell you need and get your ass back here. Got three hours and don't hang around – keep your scrawny self out of trouble." Toombs growled at her and tossed her a few chips that she caught.

"Got it." She didn't feel like standing around there awkwardly. Jack was let out of the ship and into the hanger. New planet, this was going to be exciting.

Her first stop was to get herself a backpack of sorts. Turned out to be a near everything-proof black canvas bag with enough straps, pouches and pockets to hold anything. She put all her following purchases in it – carrying around shopping bags would be asking for trouble.

Jeans, t-shirts, then both of those again for working in the ship. Buying bras and underwear wasn't nearly as pain free but she managed to pull through without too much scarring. Jack suspected she truly was turning into a girl when her line of vision focused right in on a bracelet in a window.

It didn't bother her that the leather cuff was a men's bracelet – it looked pretty nice on her and it had a lot of places to hide small blades. In the next store a strong pair of boots finished her clothes shopping.

Jack did her best to ignore the nagging voice in her head that Toombs had been uncharacteristically nice – especially for a merc. That was Riddick talking, but Jack felt that he wasn't going to have an underhanded motive. With this line of though, Jack thought she should to give him something in return.

About a half hour was spent wandering around, shifting her backpack and glancing around. With just twenty minutes minutes to spare before she had to get back to the ship she spied a shipment of alcohol going into a rather posh-looking bar.

"So what's in that?" The security officer motioned with his pen to the cardboard box Jack was barely able to carry. He had opened her suspiciously full-looking backpack but shut it immediately when the underwear and bras were on the top. So he had moved on to her other package. The large box that looked strangely heavy.

Jack shook the box and glass bottles clinked together. The officer raised an eyebrow.

"It's beer, for the captain of my ship. He gave me the creds to buy my stuff," she motioned back over her shoulder to her backpack. "So I thought I'd take the opportunity to take some of my own private cash to buy him something."

The officer laughed. "Using your captain for clothes. Sly girl."

"Better being sly than stupid." Toombs gravely voice spoke from behind them.

"Hey, I was just getting back to the ship. Officer, this is the captain." Jack introduced them and tried not to wince when Toombs steely grip closed over her shoulder.

"Evenin', let's get back to the ship." He turned her around and sent a sidelong glare at the officer. They were quiet all the way back to the ship and only after the door sealed shut did Jack open her mouth.

"Toombs, I didn't actually use my own money. I don't have any! I stole this for you!" She had put down the crate with a heavy clank that made Toombs frown. He was sitting silently in his chair in the cockpit. "Promise!" She shoved the crate over to him.

He opened the cardboard box and pulled out the crate, kicking away the softer box. Toombs jammed a knife and plied open the crate. He peered into it and a small smirk lit his features.

"You know what, Jack?" He sat back in his seat and that devilish grin kept her rooted to the spot.

"No, what?" She returned softly. What had she done wrong now?

"This could be the start of a _beautiful_ relationship," he crooned and leaned down to take out a bottle from the crate. Jack's eyes widened when she saw the label in old English script. It was helkin.

"Well, if I'm going to steal, better steal the best stuff." She replied finally and Toombs grinned at her. He carefully put the bottle back, with a worshipping tenderness that Jack believed he showed to nothing but the drink.

He stood and picked up the crate, moving to the only storage closet in the entire ship that had a lock on it. He padded the crate with the emergency blanket that had been Jack's and looking satisfied, locked the closet. Jack couldn't believe him – he would've been the nicest man in the world if he had showed that kindness to humans. Toombs moved back to his seat and heavily sat down, silently taking note that Jack had sat down on the floor.

"Want something?" He asked, not putting much sincerity in the question.

"Actually, yeah. I do." She replied, a definite tone making him swivel his chair to face her. "Let's just talk. I don't know much about you, you know some stuff about me – let's just…"

"I don't chat, fuzz skull." He growled, turning back around. He had to build that wall of uncaring fast because Jack was really growing on him. "Stay here."

Jack looked confused as he stood and grabbed a jacket, keying in the code for the exit ramp. He didn't say a word as he descended it and it closed behind him.

"Well, wasn't that informative?" Jack asked to no one, standing up to get her bags. She might as well organize her stuff. She supposed afterwards she could go through all his stuff – not like he would notice and he wouldn't be back for a long while.

"Christ almighty," Jack breathed, scrolling down the bounties Toombs had amounted over the years. He should've been swimming in cred chips by now, but clearly they were in a locked account or he had spent it all. During one stretch of time, there was one bounty every two weeks. The database labeled it as a record. There was a long period of searching after that, then some easy bounties. What had he been searching for?

Taking her time, she carefully went through every file of highest bounties and it didn't surprise her that Riddick was at the top. Without realizing it, she pulled Toombs' long-sleeved shirt over her knees that were folded up against her chest. She never had spent enough time with Riddick to really see what he was like. What if he had taken her with him? They'd probably be running from people like Toombs right now. As antisocial as Toombs was, there was something about him that Jack gravitated towards.

She glanced at the chronoclock. 23:18. It wasn't that late.

It didn't take her that much more time to read through the interesting files, so after she had finished that Jack pulled out all the tools she had been using before. Grabbing her flashlight and another backlight, she shimmied under the control panel and went back to upgrading the systems.

White wire cross-ignited with the blue, which plugged in with the red. Another set of that which was held together by a four wire pack user. Jack didn't know how long it took her to custom cross the black and orange cables – each hair-thin wire had to be tightly wound with one of the opposite color. That had to be done with two precise pliers. There were about thirty pairs to make. Then those were wound together separately. It was a long process but it would give the system-planner an update that would widen it and categorize everything by universe instead of singular system. Jack wondered why she enjoyed this so much and rubbing her eyes, pulled out from under the panel and looked at the chronoclock.

02.15.

The next day she would go out and buy books, this was a little strange. Who did this for hours and enjoyed it? Reading would be a better use of time. Going back down under, it never occurred to her that it was a little odd she hadn't gotten word from Toombs. But he was probably with some cheap whores down in the sex district of the port they were at. Maybe he was getting some sleep. Jack shrugged it off and moved onto another set of wires.

He wasn't sure how much he liked staring into the blackness of the room. The usually soft curves of the women lulled him into a well-deserved rest, but not tonight. They were invading his space and the sex hadn't been worth what he paid. He'd worked each of them twice and they were exhausted – what lightweights. Toombs tried not to think of Jack in the ship by herself.

"Huzzwha?" Jack blearily opened her eyes and startled when a tangle of wires greeted her. Why had she woken up? The vibration of her comm. device rattled the device on the floor next to her. She barely grasped it in her hand and accepted the call without even looking at the number.

"You a Jack, sweety?" A nasal voice inquired over the line.

"What's it to you?" She grumbled, using a hands-free device and clipping the comm. unit onto her pants. She began to analyze the wires – where had she left off?

"There's a Toombs here, sugarpie. Says he got somethin' to say to you." Jack scowled. This was probably one of the whores he had slept with the night before.

"Well you sure as fuck ain't his secretary, Bessy, so put him on the line!" She snarled into the speaker piece, only grinning when she huffed at being called a cow.

"I don't know what you said, but it wasn't nice." Toombs' tired voice came in on the line. Something didn't sound right.

"Hey, you alright? What the hell is going on?" She propped herself up on her elbows, wire packs forgotten.

"Nothin', just checkin' in." He replied as if it were normal. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Checking in on your helkin, right? I've been under this control panel since eleven thirty last night, so I haven't been able to make sure it was all warm and freaking toasty with the blanket padding. But I'm sure it's still there." She nearly growled into the phone. This man had some guts to be doing what he was doing.

"Not on that, fuzz, on you. What the fuck are you doing under that panel? Got drugs or something down there that you aint' sharin' with me?" He asked roughly, making Jack laugh.

"I'm working on your outdated systems, Tums. Give it a rest. You wanna be all nice 'n shit, get me a coffee or something on the way back to the ship. Unless you got another round with Bessy and the herd." Jack shook her head to herself. What the hell had gotten into her? Toombs wasn't hers to keep a leash on.

"That jealousy I'm hearing?" She could almost see that shit eating grin on his face.

"What you're gonna hear is me slicing all your systems and shattering every bottle of helkin if you don't bring me a coffee soon." She snarled.

"No need to get a stick up-"

"There is a blade right on the wire that connects your computer to the thousands of files of porn that you store on your hard drive, Toombs. Let me just pull a little pressure on that, oh! Look! A small cut in the rubber around it and just a little farther-"

"Stop! There's somethin' not right about the way you think. I'll be there with your damn coffee, just go do something else for a bit." Toombs distractedly cut her off and continued. Jack could hear the rustle of clothes and zippers.

She cut the comm. link and grinned to herself. Maybe keeping Toombs on a leash wouldn't be that hard after all.

**I am so incredibly sorry for the complete lack of updates. There was a stretch of time where I was just so super busy I didn't have the energy to put into this. But everything is calming down now (yay for summer!) so updates will be regular. **

**-Shamrock**


	7. Chapter 7

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 7**

Jack pulled on some fresh clothes, happy to finally have a wardrobe of her own. She eyed Toombs' shirt and grabbed it, balling it up and sticking it in a bottom compartment of her backpack. She walked out of the room and found Toombs at the control panel.

"Like the changes?" She asked, leaning over the back of the captain's chair. They had left the last port a few days ago and Toombs was still experimenting with the updated systems.

"It's like Christmas, fuzz skull. I don't remember the last time I used a system this fast." He replied, watching systems and universes flit by on the screen.

"What are you doing?" Jack sat down in the co-pilot's chair, legs tucked beneath her.

"Setting a course. New bounty up that sounds like a good chase." He supplied, typing in coordinates with his right hand. Jack wondered if he'd ever keep it untaped. Inwardly she sighed with relief. A new bounty wouldn't be Riddick, so they'd be safe for now. Could she ever tell Toombs about her past time she spent with the escaped convict? Jack knew that it would be a test for both of them. Whether or not she trusted him enough to tell him and whether or not Toombs would then push her for more information.

"Jack? Hey, up and at 'em." He kicked her chair and she startled into reality. "Where you been?"

"Thinking." Jack looked out the window. "So who is the bounty?"

"Ex-merc who was a thorn in my ass for years. Tried joining my crew a few years back, but he was a total narc. Didn't take him on and he haunted me about it."

Jack mused how that sounded like Johns.

"What's the bounty?"

"A lousy fifty thousand."

"Sounds a little low for the merc who has set the record for catching bounties." Jack smirked. Let him know she had been poking around in his files.

"Shut it. I gotta pile up some cash before I go deep sea fishing." He continued when Jack raised an eyebrow. "For the big fish…bounties."

"Ah, that was quite the metaphor." She sat farther back in the seat. "I still have a few updates to do, but I need to go out and get some shit to do it when we get to the next port. That ok?"

"It's going to be a few weeks til we set down again, though. Yeah, it's fine. Long as it isn't too expensive. Gotta keep the pockets full."

"For what, the whores?" Jack shot back and wanted to slap herself. Why couldn't she keep her mouth shut?

"They don't come cheap." He replied, as if question had been normal. Inside he was confused. This was the second time today Jack had bothered him about the whores. Where was she going with this?

A few weeks actually became six weeks. Toombs had to constantly avoid a few systems where he knew mercs would be hanging out that he didn't quite get along with. Jack didn't care, but was very glad when they finally landed at another port.

"Get back before dark, this city is full of assholes." He warned her, watching her unbuckle the belts on the seat.

"Like you?" She teased, standing up and stretching.

"You wish." He grunted.

"Right, whatever. I'll be back later." She got up and Toombs heard her walk back into now was their shared room. Newly booted feet walked back out and he registered the fastening of knife belts.

"Get another weapon while you're out, fuzz." He turned his seat around. Looking her up and down, Toombs knew that even at this age, Jack wasn't someone to mess with. While she hadn't been able to fight off the slave traders, he knew she had some training.

"Why? I like knives. Blasters are your thing, Tums." She started keying in the code for the exit ramp.

"It's a dirty way of fighting, but someone's gotta do it. Just do it, you'll thank me later." He watched the ramp close back up and shook his head. Why had he ever let her on this ship?

She exited the shop, pleased with her purchases. A few books later she had entered a store with the extra supplies she needed to update his systems. Jack flexed her bargaining skills and did quite well.

Evening was coming on and she knew she should be back so Toombs could leave to find his bed warmers for the night. Quickening her pace, she suddenly stopped when she heard a name over the news street holograph.

"…so the search for escaped convict Riddick continues. While many believe him to be dead, there seems to be a determined few who still chase him. He was on the Hunter-Graztner crash, which no one escaped alive from. Could he have survived?"

A picture of him flashes up and even through the photographed goggles, Jack could feel him snaking his way into her mind. Tightening her hold on her bags, she turned away and quickly walked back to the hangar.

"Back!" She called through the ship as the ramp closed behind her. "Toombs! 'm back!" She shouted again and frowned when she didn't hear anything back.

He wouldn't of have left. It was too early and he'd always want someone on the ship. Where was he? Jack looked around and found a note on the control panel.

_Roses are red,_

_Violets are black,_

_I'd think Toombs would look better_

_With a knife in his back. _

"What the fuck?" Jack asked to no one, holding the note in her hand. Had someone taken him? She couldn't feel it, but piece by piece a wall that had never been looked beyond began to crack in her. Claws scraped at the wall, breaking it down.

She quickly checked every space on the ship. The helkin was still there, but that was just a side note. But Toombs was nowhere to be found. Not a trace of where had gone besides the note. How was she going to find him?

**Do you even want to find him? The ship is yours now.**

Jack shook the voice silent. She was not going to leave him somewhere on this planet and take his ship. Besides, she didn't really know how to fly a ship to start with. Before the voice spoke again, she barged into the shared room and began to look for extra weapons.

She was going to find him.

Jack swallowed deeply as she fingered the old-fashioned handgun that was in the back waistband of her pants. She was wearing a tank top then a baggier long-sleeved shirt over that one. How the hell was she going to start to find him?

Picking up her comm. device, she found the number from the whores that had called her yesterday. She dialed their number and good old Bessy picked up. Said she hadn't heard from Toombs since he left and none of the other girls had mentioned about having him that night. Jack asked if she had heard any other 'customers' talking about getting back at him and she said she hadn't heard a thing about that.

"Well that's just fucking great," Jack mumbled, disconnecting the link. It was pretty dark out now and she was in the worse part of the small port city. But her knives were at hand and the loaded gun comfortably rubbed at the small of her back. Reassuring.

Jack figured the next best idea would be bar hopping. She asked around and no one had seen anyone of his description. At one of the last bars she sat heavily down on one of the barstools, rubbing her hand over her 'fuzz skull' as Toombs had so nicely titled it.

"Looking a little tired there, missy." The bartender greeted her. "Need a drink?"

How she was passing for legal age to drink she didn't know.

"No, looking for someone actually. Having no luck so far, though." Jack breathed in deeply, the cigarette smoke barely bothering her at this point.

"Maybe I can help, what does this person look like?" He asked, leaning over the drinks and waiting for Jack to speak.

"Guy, actually. Tall, dark hair, these mutant side burns-"

"You mean Toombs? That crazy merc?"

"Yeah! You've seen him?" Jack asked, suddenly re-energized.

"Seen him? Guy's famous around here, around most merc bars actually. I wouldn't be dropping his name too fast. A lot of mercs have shit against him. But no, haven't seem him. Why you looking for him?"

"Just am. No idea where he could be?" Jack saw someone sit down next to her. He had tattoos all up and down his arms, but she was busy talking to the bartender.

"Sorry, but no. Can I get you anything?" He asked the man who had just sat down. Jack bit the inside of her lip and glanced at the inked art on the man's skin. They were pretty intense, going all the way down onto his hand. That's when Jack saw two flowers entwined on the back of his hand. A red rose and a black violet. Her mind shot back to the strange poem left behind at the ship.

The man slowly sipped at a beer, glancing at Jack once or twice. He didn't sit long and got up, walking out of the bar. She slipped off her barstool and followed him, sticking to the shadows. By now she didn't even notice that the wall had crumbled down long ago and if one looked close enough, her shadow didn't match her form. Claws for fingers, a lithe body with a tail whipping back and forth. It slunk in and out of the shadows of the buildings, stalking its prey.

Jack stopped as the man entered into a building, through a side door that looked rusted shut. She fell the ground in a crouch and moving in the crouch, soon sat outside the door. Her boots were gripping to a gutter that was slick with who knew what.

How was she going to get in?

"You gotta know, Toombs, I know you do. Oh, back so soon, Vip?" Jack looked down, the voices were coming from beneath the gutter. Stepping back, she saw a window that was cracked open. The gutter's bars prevented her from seeing anything.

She didn't listen to the conversation, but worked on getting the gutter out. Using her knives, she easily worked it out of the cement. She set it aside and jumped into the small space, cursing when her boots made small splashes of water. The conversation stopped.

"What's that?" One asked, the one who had addressed Toombs earlier.

"Just a gutter rat, get on with it. That chick he's traveling with might call the cops if we don't get him back soon."

Chick? Jack was offended.

"Toombs, we know you know where he is. You've been tracking him with all your extra time. He's the splinter you've just got to get out of your hand."

Jack was wondering who they were talking about, but focused on getting him out. The crack in the window was being held up by a wedge of wood. She'd have to wait until they left the room to go in. She froze when she heard a muffled grunt of pain.

"Try gettin' that splinter out of your hand, Toombs. Looks pretty nasty, doesn't it Vip?"

Jack growled. These guys were getting what they deserved. She removed the wedge of wood and held the window open with her foot. Glancing into the room, she saw Toombs facing her and the guys' backs facing her. He didn't register her as she slinked into the room.

She let the window close without a sound behind her. They were laughing at Toombs while blood dripped from the tips of his fingers that hung off the arm of the chair he was taped to. Jack leaned against the back wall and took out one of her knives, beginning to use it to clean out dirt from beneath her nails.

"So I'm the chick, huh?" She quietly spoke and they two guys whipped around, startled.

"How the fuck did you get in?" Vip asked, his voice giving away his feelings. He was scared shitless.

"Well, it's not like you'll be getting out, so I don't think I need to tell you for future reference." Jack pushed herself off the wall. "Why do you have him taped to a chair?"

"None of your business, bitch." The other pulled out a gun and aimed it at her.

"Think it is, actually." She glanced at Toombs and saw he was mostly awake, watching her. "So, you going to tell me?"

**Another chapter! Back to faster updates now, I promise. Next chapter will have choice. Thanks to all who review, it makes me glad that you didn't forget my story. **

**-Shamrock**


	8. Chapter 8

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 8**

A deep growl rumbled in his throat as he shivved the last man, letting him fall lifelessly to the ground. Riddick rolled his shoulders, letting them crack. He cleaned his shivs and sheathed them, the satisfying stench of blood keeping his beast prowling and awake.

They had been a team of amateur mercs who had been tracking him for a few days from port to port. Now they were future residents of some morgue. Riddick knew that in order to keep his identity 'dead', he'd have to kill in a different way. He couldn't hit the sweet spot, so he decided on slicing the throat two different ways. His shivs would slide in opposite directions, leaving two deep gashes. It was a new style he hadn't used before and he thought it would cover his tracks for a while.

Leaving them, he swung himself onto a fire escape attached to one of the buildings that served as a wall of the alley. Riddick climbed the rails and jumped up onto the roof of the building and rested for a moment to think.

He'd been careless to not kill the mercs the moment he knew they were tracking him. Why hadn't he done it on that port a few days back?

The distraction was of course that fuzzy skulled cross-dressing punk of a kid that had run away and caused the holy man to flip a shit. Riddick knew he had done the right thing by not turning into a knight in shining armor to save Jack from the evils of the universe, but he didn't like the thought of her roaming the streets. She could stowaway on another ship that could crash on another planet. He doubted they would be on the ship same that time around.

Why should he care?

Riddick began to move, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, ignoring the blaze of the nightlife going on below him.

He knew that she would escape from the slave trade. Imam had called him back to tell him that she indeed had, but Riddick had known all along. What he didn't like was the report that Imam had given him that someone had saved her. Who would do that?

This meant she was in league with someone. He growled again at the thought of her signing up with some merc who'd probably just sell her off into the slave trade once they had gained her trust.

For right now, he was in his own freedom, his own territory. If his path crossed with hers, he'd deal with it then. But he still wasn't going to go search for her.

"Fucking hell…" Toombs groaned as he woke up, glad that the lights were off. Lights? Where was he? He cracked open his eyes to find that he was in his own ship. Last time he had checked, he was taped to a chair being tortured for information he didn't give. But then someone appeared, he thought it was Jack. She'd left the place a bloodbath, something he wouldn't forget.

He slowly began to remember how she had taken him out of the chair, tearing her long-sleeved shirt up to wrap the worst of the injuries. Trying not to hurt him, she dragged him through the window and out of the gutter. He didn't remember how he had gotten back to the ship.

But he was properly bandaged now. Laying his head back into the thin pillow, he listened for any signs of Jack on the ship. He was reassured by the running of the shower and in a few minutes it squeaked off. He managed to doze off before Jack entered the small room, standing over his bed.

"Toombs?" She asked, her voice different. It sounded like it was hiding something.

"What's it to ya, fuzz?" He shot back, his voice hoarse.

"Feeling alright?" She asked as she sat down on the bed, pulling herself across it and leaning her back against the wall. Toombs watched her angle herself so she could talk to him.

"Not peachy, but alright." He replied, sleep trying to take him over again.

"Get some sleep." Before he could reply, he was dozing off and he felt her leave the bed.

She re-wrapped his bandages again, wanting to keep the wounds clean. He was mostly unconscious for this, so she had an easy time of gently pulling back the wrap around his wrist and hand. There weren't many other wounds, a few knife gashes that were before the wood splinter they had jammed into his back of his hand. But they had only needed a few stitches and looked like they would heal just fine.

Jack hadn't slept since she'd rescued Toombs.

Maybe a few days had passed, but she sat in the co-pilots seat while she wasn't checking on Toombs. For hours she'd stare out of the window, thinking about the repercussions of what she had done. She had killed two men. And on some level, enjoyed it. Jack shuddered, remembering the dream she had a while back, where Toombs rescued her before Riddick tried to rape her. She smelled the same fear in the men that she had been feeling during that dream. Jack had a sinking feeling that her eyes had held that same predatory glint that Riddicks' had.

The sleepless nights weren't treating her well, but she knew she would manage just fine. She had small conversations with Toombs before he'd pass out again. How long had he gone without a proper rest?

She finished re-wrapping his wrist, setting it back down on the bed with a tender care that belonged to a nurse. Jack was so absorbed in her work that she startled when the ice blue eyes critically locked with hers.

"You're awake." She stated, trying to get control of her breathing again.

"Seems so," he croaked and Jack moved to get him some water. He managed to sit up enough to drink a few sips, ignoring Jack's chastising commands of him to drink it slower. His voice became stronger afterwards.

"Feeling better?" She asked, leaning against the bed. It was strangely situated as well as being some two and a half feet off the floor. It was a little wider than two feet, just enough for Toombs to roll around without banging anything against the wall or falling off the side.

"Feeling pretty good, fuzz, but you've looked better." He snidely noted and Jack snorted.

"I don't have anywhere to sleep since the helkin got preference over me and now has the blanket." She reasoned but Jack knew Toombs could smell a lie. "You're still tired, though."

"That I am." He agreed, nodding his head. "Anything about our little fiasco on the news?"

"Nothing. Guess they haven't been found. Or they have and nothing public needs to be said." Jack replied, herself having spent time scanning the port's news bulletins.

"You gotta get some rest." He moved closer to the wall and sat up. Before Jack could even protest, he tugged her onto the bed and down with him.

"Toombs, I should-"

"Sleep. You don't have boots on, good." He noted, getting ready to fall back to sleep. Jack began to move to get up, but his left arm encircled her and brought her back down. She knew it wasn't worth the fight and began to doze off. He pulled the light sheets and blankets over her and Jack was nearly half-asleep.

"G'night, Tums," she mumbled.

"Night fuzz." He returned, making sure she was anchored down by his arm.

Neither knew who it was that brought them closer. Toombs could've pulled Jack into his chest or Jack could've moved back further, and they could've both done something. Either way, Jack's head ended up snugly tucked under Toombs' and they slept on together.

Green eyes came into focus before the blue ones did.

Jack had to admit she have never felt more secure than she did right then. She didn't care how strange it was, but she hadn't had one nightmare and had slept solidly for who knew how long. That was something she couldn't really remembering having.

But it was time to get up and from the sound of her stomach, find some food. Toombs' arm became dead weight and it was no easy task slipping away from his grip. Jack smiled when a deep growl sounded from Toombs when she slid off the bed. His eyes opened soon and he stretched in the bed, his form not even close to fitting the small confines of the bed.

"Morning," he sat up and ran his hands through his hair. "Fuck, I gotta take a shower." He moved to get off the bed but Jack stopped him and grabbed his right hand.

"Let me just unwrap this before you go getting it all wet and ruined," Jack carefully peeled away the top layer and then quickly undid the rest, balling it up when she was done. Doing the same with the smaller injuries, Toombs followed her out when she was done, except heading towards the bathroom instead of the kitchen.

"Different priorities," Jack mumbled, tossing the bandages into the incinerator. She heard the shower turn on and the water rush through the pipes overhead. Her next business was finding food, which she had stocked up on during their last stop.

Jack was in the middle of making a sandwich when Toombs walked in, his wet hair still dripping. Dressed in his usual clothes, Jack noted that without his holsters, he looked near normal.

"What's that?" He pointed to what she had in her hands.

"A sandwich." She replied, knowing it would piss him off.

"I know what it is, fuzz," his biting sarcastic tone wanted to make Jack laugh. "What kind of sandwich?"

"A kind you probably wouldn't like. Peanut butter, marshmallow fluff and hazelnut chocolate spread." She recited the ingredients and Toombs looked thoroughly disgusted. Jack rolled her eyes at him and turned on the news, a female newscaster occupying the holographic screen that floated in the air.

"That isn't a sandwich, that's an atrocity." He looked at the news. "Kind of like her hair."

"Shut it, Tums, trying to watch the news." She ignored his pointed scowl and went back to eating her sandwich.

"Anything worth knowing?" He asked, after making his own sandwich.

"Doesn't seem like it." Jack finished the last of sandwich and went to get something to drink. The news continued on behind her and she turned to Toombs. "Toombs?"

"Merfh?" His mouth was full of sandwich.

"Why'd they take you?" She asked, her tone serious. "They said you knew the whereabouts of someone you were tracking. Who was it, Toombs?"

"Doesn't matter," he gruffly replied, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"I want to know, Toombs, they took you and tortured you for information. It's gotta be pretty important." Jack pressed, her defiant streak shining.

He grunted in reply. Jack's tone turned nasty and Toombs took note, his body naturally tensing in preparation for a fight.

"I saved your _ass, _the fucking least you could do was tell me why they had taken you in the first place." She snarled, fingering a knife that was sheathed in the leather cuff she wore.

"Look kid," he stood over her, his sandwich forgotten on the counter. "I don't have to tell you shit, so you can just forget about prying anything from me." The growl she emitted sparked a wink of fear in Toombs, she could smell it. The only other person who had called her 'kid' was Riddick and she hated it now as much as she had then. As suddenly as she had been inches from his face, she wasn't in the room. Toombs looked out into the small hall and couldn't even find a trace of her.

"Jack!" He heard the exit ramp beginning to close. "Get back here! Jack!"

She stalked through the streets, sending wary passer bys across the road just to avoid her. Jack was full of rage and had nothing to take it out on.

**Are you so sure about that? Don't you still feel the knives on you? There must be someone who deserves death in this port. **

Jack shook the voice from her mind again. She didn't know how it had gotten there, but felt that it had something to do with rescuing Toombs from those men. What she felt she knew wasn't totally human. Was this the beast that Riddick had? Jack put one and one together and realized that it was indeed a beast of her own and that's why she had this restless murderous energy. She didn't really want to know how Riddick got rid of it.

**Look there! At that man, surely he had raped a small child. **

She quickened her pace and ignored the voice. Jack couldn't go killing people, it wasn't right. She killed because she had to save someone and there was no other way.

**Perhaps, could you have not knocked them out?**

The circumstances hadn't permitted it. Toombs was in danger and they'd both be in trouble once the two men would've woken up. Killing them had been absolutely necessary and she wasn't going to do it out of sport now.

**If Toombs wasn't in danger, what would you have done?**

"I wouldn't even be there!" Jack exclaimed and gasped. She had just spoken out loud to a voice in her head. This was getting very out of hand. She jogged a few blocks away and found a small park, where she sat down on a bench and pulled her knees to her chest. She had some thinking to do.

"Fuck!" Toombs cursed, he couldn't hold his blaster in his right hand. The splinter had torn some of the muscle and it still had to heal, so he wasn't able to get a grip on the gun. Not even with his tape.

It was a bad idea for him to go out without being able to fire a weapon. Or even use one, he could barely grip enough to stab someone with a knife. If he went out, people could be waiting for him to abduct him again.

"Christ, Jack, what a shitty idea for you get up and leave like that," he snarled, wondering why he even cared in the first place.

_Don't be such a thick asshole, she's grown on you. _

"Ah shut the fucking hell up, what do you know anyway?" He grumbled, looking around for another weapon.

_Enough. She's growing on you and you're growing on her, it's a mutual thing. It's too late to get rid of her now. _

"Like I hadn't figured that one out yet." Toombs replied, cursing again when he saw Jack's comm. device left on the control panel. She really was out there all alone.

_Couldn't convince anyone that you had. _

"Like I said, shut the fucking hell up."

**Time to vote again!**

**Note: a) will apply to all of them, it's the ones after that you decide, it just depends where I put a). **

**a) Longer passage of time in which Jack grows up and we can set this quite some time later**

**b) Toombs goes out and looks for Jack and then a) happens and he finds out information from her past **

**c) Jack comes back, she and Toombs have a slight heart-to-heart and then a) happens**

**d) Long-winded thoughts of Jack, during which she deliberates what she will do and she eventually comes back and finds Toombs to be upset because she took off like that and there is a fight but c) gets tossed in and then a) **


	9. Chapter 9

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 9**

**Note: **The bold text is Jack's inner 'voice', as the italicized is Toombs and the asterisks indicates memory.

She let out a shaky breath, pulling her legs down with her as she lay down on the bench. What was she looking for? Why did it matter so much that Toombs tell her who the information was about?

**You know why. You want to confirm who you think it is. **

Sure, fine. Maybe it was Riddick but that wasn't the issue. Jack knew the real issue beneath everything was that she was subconsciously trying to place Toombs at an importance level that was significantly lower than that of Riddick's. She wanted Riddick to be more important because she wanted to be him.

**Do you still?**

Jack ignored the voice and continued thinking. She didn't want to be Toombs; he was just a way of staying safe and off the radar for a little while.

**Are you so sure? Has Toombs not replaced Riddick?**

She growled.

**He has grown on you, but you do not want to be him. Yet you are still traveling with him and it isn't just a way of keeping safe and hidden from the universe. You enjoy his company on some level. **

Jack didn't want to think about that. With a snort she also realized that a bigger problem at hand was why the hell did she have this voice?

**You answered that a while ago. **

Did she? She thought back to when it had first appeared, when she was saving Toombs. Then she had decided it was a beast of her own.

**Ah, your intelligence is astounding. **

A very sarcastic and annoyingly eloquent beast as well.

**At least one of us is. **

"Shut up," she grumbled. At least the stupid voice could tell her what the hell was happening and how to sort out her thoughts. The voice was silent.

"Fucking shit. It's getting dark out and she better bring back her scrawny ass. I can't go out and sure as hell can't call the cops to go looking for the kid." Toombs gritted his teeth and growled.

_She puts you through all this trouble and you can't even get rid of her. _

"Damn straight I won't." He replied, checking the locking systems.

_You won't? I said can't. _

Toombs looked up at this.

"Can't, won't, same friggin' thing." He finally replied, glancing at the ramp. Any minute now it would lower and Jack would come walking up it. A few silent minutes passed and he smashes his fist on the control panel.

Toombs wondered what the hell was the voice anyway. He sure as hell wasn't crazy, but the excessive amounts of helkin he drank could've addled his mind a bit. It always popped up when something important was going on and it pissed him off. It had this presence that he mostly stamped out, ignoring it. It was there when he saved Jack from the slave traders and there when she slept in his bed.

Speaking of women sleeping in beds, Toombs wondered if there were any nearby brothels he could check out.

_That is, after Jack returns and is safe and sound. _

"Fuck you." Toombs snarled, not wanting to admit that it was right.

Jack stood, her joints and muscles stiff from not moving for so long. She slowly exited the park, looking up and down the street. Completely unsure of which direction to be heading in, she did what felt right and turned left. It only took a few turns to find a semi-familiar area. Then it was only a few minutes before she found the hangar. Proud of her navigating skills, but weary of the sinking feeling of having to go back into the ship, Jack cautiously approached the ship.

No yelling, that's good.

She didn't hear any glass bottles being tossed about. That's a good sign too.

Using gathered knowledge of drinkers from her childhood, Jack assumed that Toombs was already passed out from drinking, asleep normally, or brooding in the cockpit. She hoped for the first two, not wanting to deal with an awake Toombs.

The ramp opened before she was even five feet away from it.

No such luck apparently.

"Jack! Get in here!"

He didn't sound drunk at all, not even tipsy. Just angry.

**I'm here, remember. **

Jack wasn't too comforted.

Toombs had seen her approach from a security camera installed on the outside of the ship. Let her know he wasn't totally unaware. He had set down the ramp and yelled for her, but he couldn't tell if she had stopped or run away or kept going. For some really annoying reason, in boots or bare feet, Jack walked with complete silence.

But he did hear the entry of the closing and locking code for the ramp from the cockpit.

She didn't say a word, but sat down on the floor. Was the co-pilot's seat too close for comfort?

_Understandable. _

He growled.

To his surprise, Jack growled back.

**There, there, pup, no need to get angry. **

"Jack, where the fuck…no, why the fuck do you think you can get up and walk off like that? I run this piece of shit and you just work for me! You don't get to do that, kid!" Toombs yelled at her, leaning forward in his chair. Her head was dropped, so he couldn't see her face.

**Well, now he asked for it. **

Jack couldn't agree more. As much as she hated the term 'kid', it was not his to use.

"And you know what you don't get to do, Toombs?" She stood and snarled deep in her throat.

He almost wished she had kept her head down. Those eyes pierced him hard and strong.

"Do you! Here, let me tell you. When you are working with someone who has saved your worthless ass, you do **_not_** get to be such an arrogant son of a bitch about it! You could tell me what the information is they were looking for. I killed them for you, Toombs! To save your miserable life I killed them!"

She was yelling now.

"I know there isn't a right or something that gives me the power to know what was the factor of your abduction, but as a decent human being you could put my self at peace by telling me that I killed them for a good reason. Because no, Toombs, as of right now, your life is not a good reason!"

**You're getting there. **

"Why!" Jack screamed, her voice hoarse. "Why did I kill them?" She turned away, feeling her throat tighten with the oncoming of tears.

Toombs was sitting, speechless. He had known Jack had a firecracker personality of sorts, but never something like this. He knew though that beneath every tough exterior, there was always something. Didn't matter how abusive parents were, how painful a past had been or how strong the streets had made someone. There was that human center that felt for other's people pain. Many people judged another's character by how strong they could contain emotion or pain. Regardless, it was always there.

Pulling himself back to the present situation, he watched her for a few minutes. Was it safe to approach her?

_You've seen she isn't just a street rat, but it is your choice. _

"Jack." He stated, simple and clean. He winced to himself. What was about to come was far from his strong point. "Jack," he stood and took a few steps, reaching the silent figure. Using his uninjured hand, he touched her shoulder and was inwardly relieved that she didn't flinch away.

"I'm sorry, Jack."

That was all it took for her to turn around and wrap her arms around his waist, burying her face into him. It took a second to kick in as to what he was supposed to do, but he eventually slipped his arms around her while she silently cried.

And to think he had just believed he had been taking on a mechanic.

"So the infamous duo believe it fit to bestow a visit on this quiet happy home, eh?" The gritty voice was interrupted with a hacking cough.

"Pay up, bitch, we got your prisoner, you got our bounty. Let's switch it up." Toombs regarded the man before him and glanced at Jack, who stood silent beside him.

She had a to-be prisoner at her feet, curled up and afraid to glance up at her. It only took a glance or growl and he would be still as ice. Toombs inwardly nodded with pride; Jack was his best. Not to mention his only. After her, there wasn't a reason to take on any more of a crew.

"But what about your entrancing…partner. She speaks, no?" The prisoner boss asked, raking his eyes on her form that spoke power.

"She ain't much of a chitchatter, trust me." Toombs replied, wanting to get out of the prison fast. He didn't like it and from the body language of Jack, she wasn't feeling too good there either. "So, you gonna pay up?"

"It's all business now, isn't it? Oy! You! Start the transfer!" The boss yelled at an armed guard who sat down at a computer and started it.

"You get the prisoner when we get the bounty." Toombs grinned cruelly, pulling out a remote for a bank account. Sure enough, the creds were there in a few seconds. "Alright, take 'em."

An airtight seal on the edge of the room that formed into a tube hissed open. Jack leaned down and taking the collar of the shirt, easily shoved him across the floor and into the open tube. She watched it close, the steel and other doors sealing it.

"It's been nice doing business. Come again!" The boss shouted behind Jack and Toombs as they left the room and walked towards the small hangar.

"You can let go of the trigger, Jack, we're outta there." Toombs wanted to rest a hand on her shoulder or arm, but he could still sense the jerks that were prison guards watching him and Jack.

When the finally got back in the ship, Jack went straight for the co-pilot's chair, adjusting the hanging waist-straps that holstered her weapons. Toombs watched her slowly relax before turning around to kick all the prisoner's restraints back into one of the closets. She was always jumpy after a drop off and he knew it had to do with something about her life before she teamed up with him. But every time he asked she clammed up.

Quite a few years had passed and she had grown up, but grown up strong and as good as it could be, under Toombs' constant teaching. When he wasn't drunk or spending the night out that is. He felt like an older brother, always keeping an eye out for any other male who decided that it would be appropriate to be within five feet of her.

Her hair had grown out, it was longer but she kept it in a braid, the soft chestnut rope swinging when she moved quickly. Green eyes danced in both joy and warpaths. Toombs saw both, but preferred to stay away from the latter.

They had become the strongest pair of mercs in the known systems, but to everyone else but Toombs, Jack was known as Caliber, nothing more. She had decided on changing it, saying that she was moving into a new part of her life and that 'Jack' wasn't her true name to start with. He doubted it but never asked, it was better to keep off her bad side.

"Hey, Jack, can you start it up?" She was still looking away but a long second later, her head swiveled in his direction. With a deep breath, she pushed herself off the chair and began to flip the switches.

"Toombs?" Jack called, walking out the small bathroom, freshly showered. She was wearing a clean pair of work pants and an old shirt of Toombs' that she had kept. Instead of two slings only one hung off the side of her hip, the blaster barrel gently hitting her leg.

"Hey, Toombs!" She tried again and was rewarded with a returned 'yeah' from the cockpit.

"What's up, Calical?" He teased and she swatted his head, leaning over the back of the chair. She hoped to see a different destination than one of the next hit. Jack wasn't surprised that he sensed her disappointment. "Not dangerous enough for ya?"

"Toombs, I wanna take a rest." Jack rested her head on his shoulder, his face level with hers. "We've tossed in ten bounties in the last two months, I'd like to take a break."

"So what, you wanna drift for a few weeks or something?" He sneered and shook his head.

"Toombs, don't be such a whiny bitch. Can we set down on a party port or something so I can just get out?" Jack stood up and waited for him to change the destination. "Toombs. I'm giving you five seconds before I start removing things you'd like to keep."

"No need to start threatnin' me, Jack, chill." He started up on the destination change and a memory kicked in.

Jack sashayed into the club, her dark kohl-rimmed eyes attracting many people with just a glance. But she was looking for the black sheep in the herd and it wasn't hard to find.

A man sitting at one of the booths, with girls fawning over him, their brightly painted nails lightly trailing down his chest. With every move, the shirt was parted a little farther and the nails that Jack saw as claws slipped in the waistband of his pants. He seemed preoccupied by the girls until the crowds parted to let Jack through, who easily caught his eye.

A few minutes later, he had pushed off all the girls and had his attention completely centered on her. He kept one hand on her waist as they talked in each other's ears, Jack convincing him to go out back. Her eyes widened slightly as he smirked and said something back to her.

Toombs was watching this from the shadows and moved out back. Jack would do her job. But what he didn't expect was that five minutes later the back door slammed open and the target came stumbling out, his nose bloodied.

"Girl, I don't know who the _fuck_ you are, but when I-" He began to yell through the blood but Jack's boot smashed into his mouth before he finished.

"It was bad enough you asked for a fucking kiss," she kicked him in the stomach. "But when your hands-" she was cut off by Toombs grabbing her wrist. He pulled her back and without a word, knocked the target out.

Jack opened her mouth to protest but he just grabbed his wrist and tied them, pulling him farther down the alley. He knew she followed behind.

Later that night she wandered out of the bedroom, avoiding the bloodied man who was still unconscious. Jack had cleaned up and was wearing a loose long-sleeved shirt and a pair of athletic shorts. Toombs sat in his seat, programming in the bounty caught and finding the prison that would pay highest for it. She automatically sat down in the seat next to his. Her braid was roughly done and hung down in front of her. It wasn't nearly as long as it would be in the future, but she certainly wasn't a fuzzy-top.

"Toombs, I'm sorry." She spoke softly. He didn't look up or even pay attention to her, but she kept on speaking anyway. "I know I fucked it up, and I'm sorry. But, what he did…I got scared and I was alone." He stopped moving at this. "Ridiculous, I know. In a club full of people and I'm alone. I looked for you and knew you must be out back but I froze. I thought he knew what was happening and I knew it would be best if I knocked him out then. Just…didn't happen as planned. Toombs, I-"

"New rule," he turned his seat and looked at her, his blue eyes not holding a trace of anger. "Don't say sorry. Never ever say it in front of targets and never, if it can be helped, say it here. Unless you're apologizing for sneaking a bottle of helkin."

"You aren't angry?"

"Fuck no. Now get to bed." He turned back and continued his work, only stopping when she didn't move. "Didn't hear me?"

"You gotta sleep, too, Tums." She grinned when he growled at her. "Leave it for tomorrow."

"Never was one to deny an offer not to work," he shut off the systems and stood, glancing at Jack who was watching the unconscious bounty. "He's out, won't be up until fuck knows when. He ain't superhuman and I overdosed him as it is." Jack stood and quickly moved around the body, Toombs behind her, but he stopped to nudge the bounty with a foot.

"Just about as alive and kickin' as a corpse." He grinned at her. She continued her course to the bedroom where she climbed in and snuggled under the blankets.

Just as it was and would be, she slept in between Toombs and wall. It was getting harder for him as she grew up, but he had no idea that every night she was reminded of the few times she had been positioned like this with someone else.

**Author note time!**

**This should've been up long ago but summer is here so I get lazier than usual. Sorry about that. Ok, there has been prodding and asking about what relationship this will be. Please do not snort up a drink, yell at your computer screen or kick something when I say I'm planning for this to be Toombs/Jack. There can be Jack/Riddick interference, but it just depends on what level that will be. **

**I need feedback for this, because I write this to and for you all. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 10**

**Note: **I am well aware that I've been absent from updating for at least two months, but I was away for quite a while and before I left, I tried updating, but I wasn't allowed for some reason. I'm continuing this story and I hope people are still reading.

How long had he been without contact?

Riddick glanced out the small window of a cabin he had found years ago. The sun was setting and soon he could go out and hunt, find some meat. But for right now, he closed his eyes and thought.

After Imam's angry conversation, he had denied all calls from that number, flying farther and farther away. He had been chased for a long time and finally wired the power cells just so and using hyper-speed, was blasted out of that chase. It had been a rough ride and when it finally stopped, he wasn't sure where he was nor did the ship seem to know what system he was in. He had landed on the closest planet, a pure forest planet. There were a few settlers, mostly people with a past who wanted to get away.

The small ship was in storage and Riddick hadn't seen it or touched it in at least five years. He couldn't remember the last time he had stayed on a planet for this long and in a way, he enjoyed it immensely. If anyone knew who he was, they never reported him, only showed him respect when he showed in the center of the small settler's town, for repair supplies or something similar.

In short, he was content where he was. The only thorn in his paw was named Jack. He didn't know if she was even alive, much less if she was with anyone. He hoped she had gone into school, maybe the military and was now set in, content and not wanting to run off and cause trouble. His beast had laughed at that – they both knew Jack was not one for staying out of trouble and she certainly wasn't one to sit back and take orders from anyone.

The temperature had dropped enough so Riddick opened his eyes and sure enough, it was night. Pulling off his goggles and linking them to a clip on his belt, Riddick exited the small cabin and went into the dark forests.

"And the mighty Calical wins again!" Jack crowed, proudly walking out of the bar, Toombs a few steps behind. She swaggered a bit and was also grinning like a madman, something that didn't happen often.

"Listen 'ere, Cal," Toomb wasn't nearly close to the state of drunkenness his companion was. "Just cause you drank that idiot into unconscious…scious…" he stumbled over the word. "Into…uncon…ah fuck it. Just cause he passed out 'fore you doesn't mean you can go all around like this. This is the fastest…route…road…trail…_fuck it_! Road to a bad reputation." Toombs stopped and gathered his thoughts. He had gotten over the fact that she could out drink him, but she had made it into a tradition that she would out drink the best drinker at every port they landed at.

"Hmm?" Jack turned around and Toombs realized how exactly gorgeous her ass was in the pants she was wearing.

"Fuck no, bad Toombs," he grumbled to himself. "C'mon, Caligirl, we gotta get back to the ship. Tha' prisoner needs a…"

"Prison?" Jack ventured, only to be tossed over Toombs' shoulder as he walked back to the hangar. She just fell right to sleep on the walk back, in no mood to protest.

"Oh fucking shit!" Jack loudly cursed when she opened her eyes the next morning, the dim light hurting her eyes. She burrowed herself back into bed, her face pushed hard against Toombs' chest.

"The fucking hell, Jack…" Toombs mumbled, awakening himself. His hangover was a minor buzz compared to what Jack's was. He shut his eyes again only to remember they had business to complete. He wasn't in the mood though. He and Jack had become closer recently and was debating whether or not to pursue it. But right now didn't seem to be a good time. He looked down at her and shook his head. No one should be allowed to be sexy at whatever time of day. "Jack." Had to get her up.

"Unghf." She held tighter onto him, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

"We gotta go drop of this shit-eating sonovabtich, so get the hell up." He pushed her a bit and was rewarded with a vivid curse and Jack stumbling out of the bed.

"There better be some fucking coffee when I get outta my shower, Tums, or we'll be dropping off two prisoners instead of one." She glared at him, the sliding of the bathroom door shut prevented him from replying.

"Good fucking morning to you too, darlin'." He inwardly groaned at the prospect of having to travel with this prisoner. He was one of the really bad ones that every merc wanted some other merc to catch. It was good money, but hard catching and even worse traveling.

He pulled on some fresh(ish) clothes and went into the cockpit, where the prisoner lay passed out from the beating Jack had given for free when they caught him. He had said something Toombs didn't hear but it pissed her off and thus, a proper punishment was dealt. According to Jack anyway. Sitting in the pilots seat, he sent a command to the kitchen to make coffee.

Toombs grinned. He had never met someone who worked so hard at being lazy. Jack had wired part of the main control panel to every room in the ship, so commands could be done without moving. She was working on a small transportation system in the ship, but it didn't seem to be working out as well as planned. He heard the shower shut off and movement to their room, then to the kitchen and then she was in the copilots seat, nursing a cup of coffee.

"So where are we dropping this motherfucker?" Jack finally said after a few minutes.

"BB IV, probably."

"Still can't believe there's a Butcher Bay the Fourth," Jack spoke between sips. "Ri-fucking-diculous, you know that? Is no one creative enough to think of another name? Why is there even a system of prisons? Does no one else think that's a little stupid!" Jack yelled.

"Well, I-" the prisoner had awoken during Jack's small tirade.

"I don't give a damn about what you think, you sexist son of a whore, so just shut your trap!" She snarled at him and like every other to-be prisoner, he pulled back as far as he could from her.

Toombs shook his head as he set the coordinates, watching Jack out of the corner of his eye. She glared out at the hangar, looking angry. He was pulling in the sub-system of prisons onto the screen when he remembered something from a while back.

_"That was damn girly, Jack." He smirked at her as she stood a few feet away, her breathing just slightly labored. They were practice fighting and Jack had landed a blow on Toombs maybe one out of fifteen tries. _

_He watched her calm herself, controlling her urge to snap back at him. Then a determined stance faced him and for a few seconds, he was unnerved by a clouded look her eyes had. Before he could even fall back into a defensive position, she was on him, landing punches and blows faster then he thought possible. He pulled back and caught her wrist, twisting it behind her back and pulling her flush against him then down to the floor. She struggled beneath him but finally stopped. _

_"Done now?" He asked, voice hoarse and out of breath. _

_"Lemme up, Tums," she replied. He let her up and she sat rubbing her wrists. "Got a steely grip there. Right, the tape, it's for gripping shit." _

_"Fine memory you got there, Jack." He mused. "Where'd you learn that?"_

_"Learn what?" She asked, laying on the floor. _

_"Don't play stupid, where'd you learn to fight like that?" Toombs walked over and looked down at her. She didn't look like she wanted to give an answer any time soon. _

_"Does it matter? All I care is that if worse came to worse, I was tossed in the slam, I'd know how to fight." She stood up and without a glance back, walked out of the small room. _

_"Yeah, it does matter," Toombs spoke after the door shut, "cause you fight like someone I've been chasin' for years now. You fight just like him." _

"I told you to shut the hell up!" Jack yelled at the prisoner, snapping Toombs out of his trance.

"You weak-willed bitch, you're just afraid of the truth." The prisoner spat and Jack was close to seeing red. "I know what you're all about, I know your past."

With that one word Jack was out of her seat and kicked the prisoner straight in the face. Toombs grabbed her and tugged her hard back towards him. She breathed heavily and unevenly as the criminal spat up teeth and blood, moaning in pain. She had undoubtedly broken his jaw in several places, the way it was shaped now.

Toombs' cold eyes surveyed the scene and he didn't like it that the prisoner had said something that had ticked her like that. She had lost her cool before, but not like this, not so easily. It was her past, she didn't want to remember it obviously. Why, though? He knew that she had never liked talking about her past, much less having someone poke about it.

"Christ almighty, you're up not even half an hour and look at this. Get somewhere else, now." She walked back into the hall and he heard the door to their bedroom slide shut.

"Your," the man spat up more blood. "Little whore don't like me much." He laughed.

"Listen up your motherfucking sonovabitch. Your bounty is barely worth the trouble so let's even it out and why don't you be the fuck noiseless til we get to your new home and if you say one fucking whisper to her I will let her go on you and trust me, you'll be fucking sorry you got caught by us." Toombs sneered and turned back around in his seat.

He started up the take-off system checks and glanced back, wondering if Jack was going to show. After he had passed through the atmosphere, she still didn't appear.

He did double locks on the prisoner and knocked him out with an overdosage of tranquilizers. Only then did he venture into the back of the ship, keying in the pass code to the bedroom.

She was curled up on the bed, shivering. He looked a little bored and irritated with the situation, but inside he was concerned. For some reason she was on top of the blanket and he would have to wake her up.

"Jack, wake up." He rested his hand on her elbow and she jerked awake. "Woah, there, just me. Get up so I can get this blanket."

Without any words she did as she was told and watched silently. He felt her eyes on him as he kicked off his boots and pulled himself up onto the bed. There was some awkward movement as they switched spots, Toombs closer to the wall. Finally the blanket was arranged around them and Jack curled up next to Toombs, who pulled her against him. At this point it was natural but with that came a bond that Toombs didn't like.

"Maybe I should go watch the prisoner," Jack started to sit up but he pulled her back down.

"Hold up, I got 'im knocked out and double locked, there ain't no reason for you to go out an' watch 'im. Unless you don't wanna be with me." Toombs added, looking for a reaction.

She sighed deeply and sat up all the way, not looking at him. He stretched out behind her and yawned, wondering what this conversation would lead to.

"There's a block of my past you don't know about." She started, hugging herself. Jack tried not to hear the creeping screeches of the aliens from that hell-planet, but they were hiding the shadows. "I never told you because I was afraid you'd use it. Afraid you'd use me like everyone else has. I wanted to escape, to be my own person."

He sat up now, leaning on the wall. This would prove to be interesting.

"I was a runaway, obviously. I went from port to port, looking for a way to get somewhere, anywhere. Dressed up as a boy I got myself passage on this ship bound for New Mecca."

The pieces were starting to fall into place and Toombs knew what she was going to say before she said it. But let her tell him.

"I know you know now, yes, it was the Hunter-Gratzner, the ship that crashed. The ship that had Riddick on it. The worst hours of my life," she pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tight. "were spent there. Only three survived. Imam, Riddick and I."

It was quiet for a few seconds and Toombs could nearly see the fear rolling off Jack in waves. She was truly afraid that he was going to sell her out.

"Toombs," she turned to him and when he saw the tears he froze. "You have to understand. Until right now I've protected him. Never told anyone about him, no one about my past – you're the only person besides Imam that knows! When we spent that time on that skiff, there was more to him then what he is known for. He saved my life and Imam's, too."

"Jack, listen. I ain't gonna sell you out and I won't press ya for more information but to any other merc, it don't matter whether he's a good guy, he is a bounty." Toombs said what he had to say, but there were still tears in her eyes. If this girl could grow on Riddick, there was no way she hadn't grown on him. "C'mere, babe."

She crawled to his open arms and curled up, holding onto him. He held her, letting his head fall onto hers, her sweet-smelling hair cushioning him. He wasn't going to let her go and that was the final decision.

As she fell asleep, he gathered the blanket around her and made sure she was comfortable. He began to nod off and he wondered if Riddick had known what he left behind. And what he was missing.

"Evenin', sir, what'll it be?" The bartender asked Riddick as he sat on one of the stools.

"Pint." He replied, checking his surroundings. He had been almost surprised when he first walked in and not only the bartender, but about half the bar-goers had their eyes shined. The lights were kept dim, and the brightest light one could get was a small candle at the table they were sitting at.

"Huntin' decent?" The bartender asked.

"Herds are moving, winter's setting in early."

"You like it up there on your old eagle's nest of a cabin? Swear that firetrap of a home is so high up you could walk on straight through the atmosphere."

Riddick quietly snorted in amusement, tipping his head when the pint landed in front of him.

"It's a good place." Riddick tensed when the door slammed open and in came a few travelers from the night cold. He and the bartender watched them sit down, unpack a few layers and order hot food. One of them came up the bar and sat down heavily, breathing in the warm air.

"Where you from?" The bartender asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Just landed in, we had to get away." He looked around. Riddick recognized paranoia. Hell, he was probably the cause of the paranoia of the majority of the world's population.

"Bein' chased?"

"Bein' fucking trapped and barely gettin' out. Swear I wouldn't of touched a hair on that man's head if I knew his death was gonna end up doin' that to me." He shook his head. "When I signed up, they said there weren't no mercs _that_ fuckin' good."

"Mercs have always been shit, you're just bad at being chased." Riddick replied, glancing back at the other two at the table.

"Well shit, what would you know?" The bartender raised his eyebrows so high they nearly hit the hairline.

"Boy, I want you to turn in your seat and take a good long look at the man sittin' next to ya." The bartender ordered and the guy did. His eyes widened and words just stumbled out of his mouth.

"Sorry, didn't mean it, I swear-"

"Just shut up about it and tell one person-"

"Trust me, I ain't that stupid." Silence fell between the three of them and the guy ordered a pint of beer. His food came and one of his companions brought it over to the bar. He was shoveling it in when the talk started up again.

"So, these mercs, that good?" The bartender asked.

"And there's only fuckin' two of 'em!" The guy swallowed his food so he could speak clearer. "You probably heard of one of 'em, Toombs, you know him?"

Riddick did not like this at all.

"Heard of 'im, who else?" The bartender was watching Riddick's reaction as well.

"Some chick! She's fucking ruthless. I got a glimpse of her while they were chasin' us. Man, there was more hellfire in her than the devil 'imself. Jeeeezus. I am glad to be here and not out there. It ain't safe for any criminal with a high bounty." He finished up his food and his beer.

"Uh…" He turned towards Riddick. "Look, I don't know if they're still followin' us, we hyperjumped them, but you might wanna think about high tailin' it outta here. Where they go, every bounty is swept clean."

"What's her name?" Riddick asked.

"Sorry?" He guy turned around, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Oh, you mean Hellfire. I don't know, but on the street they call her Caliber."

The three got up and left, leaving a big tip and many thanks for the food. The bartender gave them directions to an inn and they left. Riddick breathed deeply when the door slammed shut. There had to be many women who were mercs and many who were psycho like the one the guy had described.

"They call me Rob by the way," the bartender was drying off a glass.

"Rob?" Riddick had to ask.

"Maybe you're too young to remember, but there was somethin' called the Alliance Heist."

"Largest amount of cred chips and military supplies stolen in history. They said it was pulled off by one guy." Riddick replied. He remembered.

"Yep, and I was the robber. Built myself this nice little establishment," he patted the wooden bar a few times. "And do some weapons sellin' from time to time."

"Rob," Riddick drank the last of his beer. "That's damn original."

"Not nearly enough bounty for that piece of shit," Jack glared at the closed door of the prison's guard's room. Toombs kept walking, staying quiet for once. He had known that she had seen the prisoner as a threat. For some reason, he had known about her past and she wasn't pleased. Sure, they did background checkups on their bounties, but he didn't think that the bounties would do background checks on those chasing 'em. She had been pretty upset that night but while it was hard for her, it had changed their…state of relationship.

"And what was with you chasing after those other three? If you had just let those other guys go, but no, you thought," she turned around suddenly and tapped the barrel of her handgun on his chest. "You could get two bounties in one! Hell, four if you count each of them separately!"

"It was worth a try," he smacked the gun away from him.

"Well we lost 'em, wasted fuel and energy and had to deal with that shithead longer than absolutely necessary!" She exclaimed, roughly holstering her gun. Toombs got the door opening to the ship, the ramp coming down to the ground.

"In ya go, Cal," he waited for her to board their ship, looking around at the prison. He was glad he was on the other side of the bars.

She undid the low-slung leather holsters and hung them on the back of her seat. Kicking up her legs, she breathed in deeply. As much as being a bounty hunter wasn't respectable, she was enjoying it. Toombs sat down in his chair, taking a moment to breathe. He glanced over at her, her toned body stretching back as she fixed her messy hair that he personally liked down, but he wasn't going to argue.

"Hey," she started softly, her voice surprisingly gentle after the short angry speech she had shot at him before. Her hands fell from her hair and she turned to look at Toombs. "I know it's a little weird to ask, I mean, we've been together for quite a few years and I've never said shit about it but-"

"Out with it." He ordered, starting the systems check.

"Can we break for Christmas?" She asked and the question caught him completely unaware. "Just set down somewhere for the next few weeks and relax, celebrate Christmas, like normal people."

"We're normal!" He defended, looking somewhat scandalized. He started up the engines as she kept going.

"C'mon, Toombs, we could go out and enjoy the winter, instead of being cooped up in this ship! Besides, we're not normal and you know it." Jack replied, strapping herself in.

"Darlin, I hate to break it to ya, but we're sort of well-known and I don't think settling down in a place for a few weeks just to go butcher some tree and waste money on gifts is a good idea."

Jack stayed quiet for a second as they lifted through the atmosphere.

"We could go somewhere not really well-known?" She ventured and Toombs took a deep breath. "Please, Toombs?" He had a dozen reasons as to why this was a bad idea but she was pushing for it. When did he become this weak? "Please?" Sadly, it only took one look at her for him to know why. God she had him wrapped around her finger.

"Alright! Fine! Just gimme time to find a semi-safe place." He shook his head but was rewarded with Jack jumping up from her seat and wrapping her arms around his neck. But the surprise was her fast but sweet kiss to his cheek.

"Christmas!" She stood up and yelled. "Wooo! Holidays! Shopping!" Toombs could see in the reflection of the cock-pit window Jack dancing around. "Oh man!" She sat down in her chair and pulled up a blank document hologram. "All the stuff we gotta do!"

"Whattya mean?" He was still starting to feel a snake of supreme arrogance after that kiss.

"Holiday food! And other…stuff. I mean, there's stuff you gotta have to have a good Christmas. Like hot chocolate. Marshmellows. And presents!"

"Presents?" He was now busy finding a port to rest down at.

"Yeah! What do you want for Christmas, Toombs?" She was continuing writing but Toombs stopped and looked up. Had anyone ever asked him that?

"No idea. Anything." He tried to work but realized he had to ask, too. "You?"

He would've expected her to produce a list of presents she'd been accumulating over the years.

"Ditto, gotta think on that one." She replied, glancing at him. "Be original, Toombs, I want a good present."

**Alright, this chapter is long because I'm trying to make up for my supreme lack of update. I apologize again. I suck. It's true. ---waits for that moment where a dirty joke could be made to pass---**

**Much better. **

**Alright, I can see a few of you are intrigued by the Jack/Toombs pairing. I'm playing with it, I don't know quite where to take it, but it's there. So, now I enlist the help of my readers.**

**Toombs and Jack do settle down for a bit and in all it's cliché glory, love blossoms. But they're seen, pictures are taken and it's out that they are a liability to each other.**

**Riddick doesn't like what is going on, so he goes to investigate. He isn't happy when he finds Toombs all over Jack. A meeting between the three may ensue. **

**Riddick appears and during a surprise meet up one of the three gets kidnapped, dragged away, the usual. The other two are left with a decision to make. **

**In any of the choices, there will be Jack/Toombs. Just bear that in mind. **

**Thank you. **

**-Shamrock**


	11. Chapter 11

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 11**

And it continues…

If anyone would've asked him what he was doing, he probably could have only answered with: "I honest to fucking God don't know."

Yet Riddick was out of the atmosphere of the forest planet and starting to pull up anything he could on Toombs and on his little sidekick, Caliber. Many instincts told him it was her, it was Jack, but he had to check. Then again, how many times had his instincts been wrong?

He leaned back in his pilot's chair and breathed deeply. Did he truly want to find her? With him? That bastard had been chasing him half his life, or so it felt. So if he did see her, what would he do anyway? He suspected she detested him for just leaving her like that and whatever she did after he left was her choice, he just wished it wasn't as stupid as something like signing up with a merc. But it seemed the fates were against him. He chuckled to himself quietly, if in fact she were out of trouble and doing the right thing then he would be worrying much more than he was now.

Riddick was interrupted from his thoughts as a small beep brought him to reality. The outdated computer had brought up every existing fact and article on Toombs since after he had abandoned Jack. Hours passed as he continued to read, soaking in all the information.

When he finally finished, he sat back heavily and dragged his hand over his head.

"You've been busy, Jack."

"We can't look conspicuous, so hide your weapons, will ya?" He gestured at her holsters and obvious knives sitting in sheaths all over her body.

"Fine, if I'm doing that you gotta clean up. Wear clean _civilian _clothing. None of this vest and tape business, wear normal people clothes," she grinned at him. "And maybe…just clean up. You could start by taking a shower."

"And you could start by keeping your punk-ass little trap shut, Jack." He snapped back but she smiled at him again, unbuckling the belts. She was struggling with one that wasn't pulling out and her low growls became audible snarls as it wouldn't budge. "C'mere, babe."

With an offended snort she walked over to him and let him take a try at it. As his hands easily worked the worn leather belt, Jack did her best not to blush but it was hard. Really hard when he kneeled down and his breath was smoothing over her bare stomach. After a particularly vivid curse he pulled it loose and Jack had to swallow as he slid the belt off her hip and around behind her, his arms encircling her for a moment.

"There you go, not so hard." He held the belt out to her as she stood there, barely getting reaction time in as she took it from his hands. "You alright there, Jackie? Look a little feverish."

"Huh?" She glanced up at him and her eyes were locked with his. "Yeah…'m fine. Uh, I'm going…" she gestured to her clothes and he quickly backed away and mumbled a vague affirmative.

Jack nearly sprinted to the bedroom, double-checking the lock on the door before she sunk down onto the bed. What the hell was wrong with her? She had never froze up like that when he touched her, but suddenly it was twelve year old crushes all over again. Jack shook her head violently, this was _not_ Riddick at all and the two were nothing alike.

A few minutes later she had changed and was laying on the bed, stretched out and calm. Her mind was traveling at a much more normal speed, wandering from what she should get Toombs for Christmas to what Imam was eating for dinner this very night, all the way on Helion Prime. She barely heard Toombs angrily ask her to unlock the door.

"My bad, Tums, was out of it for a second." She looked over at him as he came into their all-too-small bedroom.

"A second!" He turned from finding clean clothes for himself to look at her. "More like ten minutes!"

He tried not to linger on the bare skin Jack showed while stretched out on the bed. Truthfully, he wanted nothing more than to climb on there with her and just spend the rest of the day there. The question was, how would he spend all that time in bed?

"Tums!" Jack exclaimed, her foot shooting out from the bed and kicking him in the thigh. "Why the hell are you grinning like that? It's creepy!"

"Hm?" He looked down at her, her scowling and questioning face just making her even sexier. "Nothing you gotta worry about."

"Right. So, what's the plan?" She grabbed the pillow instinctively and pulled it against her stomach. He had never understood it and it pissed him off, there was only one pillow and she often just took it like that during the middle of the night.

"Well, cause some bossy bitch said so, I gotta take a shower and wear _normal_ clothes, whatever the fuck that means. Then I'm going into port and seeing what sorta accommodations I can find." He summed it up as she glared at him, tossing the pillow at his face.

"In that case, I'm going to take a nap." She reached out for the pillow and without resisting, he gave it to her. "Have a good shower, know this is a sorta rare occasion for you, so wishing you the best."

"Shut it, Jack." He warned, taking his clothes and leaving the bedroom.

Only after she heard the shower turn did she let out a huge breath of air she had been holding in. Jack turned a few times before staring up at the ceiling.

"This tension has gotta go."

"That better be edible," he commented, glancing over her shoulder. Jack swatted him away and kept cooking, inwardly decided she would let Toombs try it before she did. Honestly, she wasn't a great cook and she wasn't even seventy percent sure this was edible.

"You'll get what you get." She turned around to see him lean back on the other half of the tiny kitchen counter. "How was the great outdoors?"

"Not so great. Cold as fuck. It's gonna snow soon, you got a snow…jacket? Coat? Cause you'll be needing it." He rummaged through the fridge and found a beer, opening it on the edge of the counter.

"I was asking for a little more than a weather report, Tums. Did you find a place for us to crash for a bit?" She turned back and kept cooking, figuring it wasn't too hard to screw up stew.

"Depends what you wanna pay and depends on where you want it. But I got a few places scouted out. Jack, in all seriousness, that doesn't even look remotely edible." He motioned with the top of his beer bottle to the pot Jack had been poking out with a spoon and adding spices every few minutes. She looked at it for a few minutes before glancing back at him.

"Get out the instant food?" She asked and chuckling, he pushed himself off the counter and went to the cabinets. Jack happily got rid of the questionable stew she had been making and took a noodle-bowl from Toombs.

They ate in near silence, both hungry. Jack finished hers first, as always. Toombs swore to himself it wasn't human the way she could put away food and alcohol and not even gain an ounce of weight. She was sipping at his beer when he finished, shivering every few seconds.

"I'm going to find out why the hell the heater isn't going on." She put down the bottle and left the kitchen, leaving Toombs slightly confused.

Between her tripping up earlier with the belt and her not so sociable mood now, he figured it out she was feeling the tension, too. But he hadn't been too smooth either, his voice had been completely caught in his throat when she did her best to sprint outta the main room. Damn, what a girl he could be, but the tension was killing him. Now it was up to one of them to break it. He hoped for once the luck was with him and she would do it.

He closed his eyes in the darkness, letting the ship float aimlessly in space. As he rested, his mind connected the past drop-offs, verified locations and news clips about Toombs and Caliber. After that last prisoner drop, they seemed to just hang for a bit then he lost track of them. He couldn't trace any pattern of them searching for their next bounty and he was having trouble figuring out where they went.

Clearly they were taking a rest. A holiday break, seeing how it was only a few weeks before Christmas. Riddick shook his head at that. Jack was behind that, there was no merc who stopped for Christmas, unless their next bounty was getting smashed on the Eve punch.

Almost no pictures had been taken of Caliber, he could only find ones of her in the distance, usually under the cover of shadow, or a hood. They hadn't been taking chances, both knew that they were a hefty piece of cred. He wondered what she would look like now, whether or not she had grown out her hair, if she had stayed in prime fighting condition. If she were traveling with Toombs, he highly doubted her language got any better – if anything it became worse and the two probably made the hardest of men wince with the language that came out of their mouths.

The next part of the puzzle was if they were just resting in space and then landing for a few days or had they already landed somewhere, looking for a nondescript area to stay safe and out of the media's eye.

Jack had been very good at that, she had told him all about the newest tricks of the media to get any sort of decent news. She must've talked a mile per minute on that small skiff, just wanting to talk. He had barely replied but that had never seemed to matter to her. At that point she had probably thought he was taking her with him and had no idea she was going to be left behind. But it took him by surprise just how fast she had gotten up and took off from Imam's home.

Why was he doing this again?

"Shit, we need to replace the heater wires that connect to the-" Jack was cut off by Toombs, who was already wearing extra layers.

"I don't give a fuck about the technical shit, just get what it needs and fix it." He wasn't enjoying the freezer-like quality his ship had taken on at all. While he didn't mind the cold, the frigid metal wasn't nearly close to being pleasant.

"Don't you dare snap at me!" Jack lashed back, nearly an ice cube herself after spending an hour or so under the control panel in the frosty dark. "Besides," she rubbed her bare arms, "I doubt any shops that could even replace this part are open at this time of night." She blew hot air into her hands, trying to gain some heat and wished for a fur blanket, one that would keep her eternally warm.

"So what are you going to do?" He asked, hoping there would be an answer. A positive one. In truth, he was expecting her to yell at him for being so self-centered about the whole problem.

"I can't do anything about this tonight." She was too tired to fight and just wanted to sleep the whole mess away. Jack glanced up at his still-expectant face and shook her head. "I mean it, Toombs, I can't do a thing about this right now. Not until I have that replacement part. Anyway," she moved past him, shivering. "If you're worried about your damn helkin freezing, you can stop because alcohol of that pure content won't freeze."

She kept walking, back into the bedroom, where she hoped to find something that would keep her warm. He followed her and leaned in the open door as she pulled on a long-sleeved shirt.

"No sweater?" He asked when she sat on the bed, rubbing her arms through the thin material.

"If it's this cold in here, it's colder outside and if I get too warm here and get used to it, when I go outside I'll freeze my ass off. So no, no sweater," she yawned. "Hey, I'm turning in, it's too cold to really do much of anything."

Toombs knew she was far from warm, her bluish fingertips giving him more than just a clue. He kicked off his boots, letting them fall next to Jack's orderly pair, and climbed into bed. Jack was undoing her hair, the rich smell close to intoxicating his senses. As she lay down, Toombs guided her so her back was facing him and she made no noise of protest when he pulled her flat against him. His arm lay over her waist and she reached for his hand, interlocking her fingers with his.

"G'night," she spoke to the darkness softly, squeezing his hand just a bit. He buried his face in her hair, mumbling his goodnight as he tightened his complete hold on her.

Toombs woke up to an empty bed, but he could still smell Jack all over the sheets and pillows. That and her body heat hadn't vanished completely from the small area she had been occupying. He sat up, groaning at his cramped muscles.

"Fucking freezer of a ship." He kicked the wall, his foot too numb to feel any immediate damage.

"We gotta get out of here and find that replacement part, that's for sure," Jack's voice startled him and he looked up, a small grin breaking when he took in her appearance. Hair still down, her clothes completely disheveled and her boots not even buckled.

"Damn fucking right we do," he reached for his boots, making room for her to sit next to him on the bed.

"Hey, made you coffee," she held a steaming partially open thermos of coffee in front of his face as he was bent over. He couldn't resist and quickly abandoned in the boots in favor of the scalding caffeine.

"Hm, thanks Jackie." He said after a few sips, noticing hers was empty. She leaned on his shoulder, a yawn being her reply to his gratitude.

"It's gonna be an icy world of piss-freezing cold out there." She finally stated, making Toombs nearly snort in his coffee. "How about I give you a piece of paper that has the name of the part, you get it and I stay here and try not to turn into an icicle?"

"You wish. Get your ass up, we gotta get some winter clothes too and I ain't picking out something for you." He drained the last of his coffee.

"You need to get me a Christmas present, so this could be good practice," Jack quickly replied, not entertaining the idea of being outside at all.

"And you need to get me one, too, so you need to get outside." She was fast, but he was faster.

"Fuck you, Tums." She hissed, standing and going through her small drawer of clothes, pulling out a sweater and vest. She rolled her eyes when he laughed at her and just put on her clothes, wanting to get this over with as fast as humanly possible.

Riddick tensed for a second when the landing legs bounced as they hit the ground, but relaxed when the ship eased into the weight and gravity.

He needed to refuel and get some food, so he had stopped a small residence port. The landing coordinator had been kind enough to tell them that they were experiencing heavy winter storms at the moment and there could be delays in taking off. That and to stay warm and out of the snow as much as possible. Riddick had resisted from replying: "Well, gee, thanks Mom."

Zipping up the heat-trapping vest and swinging a heavy hide-lined coat over his shoulders, Riddick did a double-check on his shivs before keying in the exit ramp code. He pulled the coat completely on before the burst of frosty wind hit him in the face.

Carefully pulling his goggles up, he surveyed the open hangar doors before closing the ramp behind him. He listened to it lock and then started his trek to the snowy outdoors. Food would definitely be first on the list.

As they exited the store, Jack flexed her fingers in her new gloves, her nails and a little more showing at the top. Kept her hands warm but the bulkiness wouldn't prevent her from using weapons…or working. Toombs followed behind, his previously gloved hands stuck deep within the pockets of the black duster. He watched Jack's form move easily in the snow, the leather ground-reaching coat flapping around with the wind. A memory, that coat. He mentally shuddered as the image of the bloody cuffs snapped into his mind.

"Hey, you wanna eat or go get that replacement part?" Her voice broke his thoughts and out of habit, he glanced around them. Nothing threatening.

"Whatever you want, sugar." He grinned and she raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Well, it's do you want to have the ship heated or do you want to let it get even colder and eat somewhere?" She could easily tell the answer. "So, replacement part is first."

They walked next to each other, passing a street of somewhat empty restaurants. A pub was on the corner and Jack inhaled the smell of beer and good, greasy food. But they kept walking, Toombs determined to get his ship as toaster-like as possible.

"Shame, though." Jack commented, not having to shout as the wind died down a bit.

"Shame? 'Bout what?" He scanned the street for the store. He narrowed his eyes as he couldn't find it at first – if that computer had lied to him he would have its hard drive torched.

"There was this pub back there, looked like it had great food." She replied, walking past a few doors and stopping at one. "It's right here."

"Saw it the entire time," he closed the distance between them and sent her a sidelong glare. "So get in and buy the damn thing already!" He gestured towards the shop and with a grin, Jack opened the door and without a sound, stepped in. Toombs waited for a second, feeling something was off. But the wind died down even lower and he lost it, so he followed Jack in.

Riddick looked up at the sign swinging in the wind. Looked like a pub. With beer. And hot food. Somehow able to walk in the snow without crunching it beneath his boots, he pushed open the door and was satisfied with the smoke-filled, shady pub.

He found a small booth in the back corner and slid across the torn and worn red leather, making sure he could survey the entirety of the small establishment. In a few minutes a waitress came over, slapped down a menu and waited for him to decide which took a total of ten seconds. After scribbling down his order she walked off, her heels clicking on the floor.

It would be good to stop and take a break from tracking Jack and her merc companion. His determination wasn't as strong as it would be tracking someone to kill. Riddick knew that he had screwed up royally when it came to leaving Jack back on Helion Prime with the holy man. That wasn't her world at all and the only thing she had wanted was his companionship. But he had been thinking in the extremes and decided it wasn't safe. Truly, he kept clear of mercs and police forces at least eighty percent of the time. She would have been safe with him and he could've trained her, taught her and kept her out of corruption's way. Of course he had assumed something would happen and she would be landed in a slam and be convict…he didn't even want to consider it.

He nodded in thanks for a drink that was set down in front of him and only heard the heels click away again, the swinging door whooshing back and forth after being bumped open by a hip. Riddick drank half of the pint and waited for his food, passing the time away by profiling the people in the pub. Most of them looked like they had been in some crime at one point or another, and no women except for well-dressed whores that followed a man about like a lapdog.

"Here ya go, mister." The waitress put down the plates of food he had ordered with a little wondering stare. She had seen men down food, but never a man with such good physique.

"Thank you," he replied gruffly.

"Welcome," she shrugged and walked away, slightly surprised that he had even thanked her. No one was that kind in this sort of place.

Riddick easily put away all the food and sat back, finishing his pint. There was some sort of information trade going on in the booth that was the second one from the corner. Staring into the liquid that he knew was amber-coloured, he listened.

"So, who landed here today?" One voice asked, sounding semi-interested.

"Private or public?" Another replied, his voice drawling and bored.

"Private, really I don't give a flying shit about public transports." Riddick could hear the clinking of a heavy watch against cuffs. This was a high-payer.

"A few family owned transports, none of them company people, just private. One police transport, came in with those new upgraded weapons. Must be some sort of underground thing, cause this is about as residential and non-crime as it gets." He didn't need to strain his ears to hear a few 'hm's as a finger went down a paper list of arrivals.

"This sounds pretty boring, I better be paying for something decent in the next few seconds." A clink of a glass and rattling of ice accompanied the statement.

"Ah, here is something." A squeak of chair legs being pushed forward in anticipation. "Merc ship landed, holding two mercs. And from the looks of this, these are mercs that aren't to be messed with. A background check is done on any merc who lands here and these are quite…famous. Heard of Toombs? Caliber?"

Riddick tensed.

"Heard of? They've wiped clean half my crew for over-system deals!" He exclaimed. "Alright, you've done your job. Take your creds and go."

"Same time next week?" Boot steps.

"Don't be late," the payer replied and one pair of footsteps departed while the other stayed unmoving. "We got ourselves an early Christmas present. Start setting up surveillance teams, I'll be back soon." Cell phone snapped shut.

Riddick waited until the man left before paying his own bill and putting on his coat. So the tracking was done, the two were on this port. This planet. A small grin just cracked his mouth. He was going to be doing some surveillance of his own.

**Whew! Build-up chapter! No choices this time around but next chapter will be exciting. Thanks for everyone who has reviewed, you guys have been great. **

**-Sham**


	12. Chapter 12

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 12**

Toombs snarled a lengthy amount of curses as he exited the store, Jack in tow holding a bag. As he complained loudly and stamped around in the snow, she carefully folded the extra paper around the small replacement part and then stowed it in the depths of somewhere beneath her coat.

"Let it go, just because you and he didn't get along doesn't mean you had to level a blaster at his face." She sarcastically soothed him and he sent her a sidelong glare.

"With the way he was looking at you I'm surprised you didn't knife him in the first minute we were in that shit hole." He replied, glancing around the winter dusk. The snow had stopped and the sun was setting, leaving an orange glow and shine on the still-clean snow.

"Trust me, I wanted to castrate him as much as you did," she began to walk away, in the opposite direction of the main strip where they had come from about forty minutes earlier.

Toombs had been caught up watching the creeping orange rays light up the ground, the way Jack's long coat caught a few beams that seemed to be absorbed into the leather. As a result, he barely grasped the underlying meaning in Jack's reply. When it hit him it took a few more seconds to set in and he found that Jack was nearly around the corner and out of hearing range.

"Hey!" He called and she stopped, turning half way around to watch him catch up to her. "What the hell did you mean by that?"

Riddick breathed in the fresh air and let the cold bite his lungs and wake up his beast. He probably had enough time to find some refueling area before it closed. Turning to the left, he passed beneath the swinging pub sign, only half aware of its squeaky hinge.

He was checking his shivs when he saw on the ground a definite pair of footsteps. Two sets of heavy-duty boots, not army-issued, but definitely not something anyone could pick up off the street. There were some custom treading, something a merc would do. Two pairs.

This tracking would be easier than he thought.

One pair was obviously lighter than the other, with smooth and decisive steps while the other was heavier and constantly unsure. A sign of old-time paranoia, Riddick would guess it could be something someone could see in his own boot-prints. If he left any that were deep enough to trace that far.

He followed the footsteps to a store where it looked like the worker was closing up. The young man hurried away after the gate was locked and Riddick let out a disgusted grunt at the scent of arousal that the shop's worker had left behind.

It took him only a few minutes to get into the store and even less time to access the store's charge records.

It showed a very recent purchase, of a heater pack. So their heater was broken on their ship? At first Riddick was amused by a snowman form of Toombs but his beast brought to mind the idea of Toombs, Jack and the issue of no heating. Riddick refused to let that bother him but from what he had picked up, it seemed the two were close.

"Of all people to pick, Jack, why him?" He muttered quietly to himself. It was out of character, but he wasn't in danger. Riddick quickly left the store and it looked nearly untouched. As he left, though, something caught him.

A smell.

No, a scent.

Concentrating on the passing wind that was shifting in his favor, two particular scents stood out to him. One of helkin and masculine and another…he couldn't label it but he knew it. Oh did he know it.

Jack.

"You were jealous." She stated, looking up at him. Jack tried to ice up her insides like the snow around her, but those damn blue eyes just got her every time. And now, there were only looking at her.

"Jealous? Don't be stupid." He wanted to move, to break this.

"That's the worst retort you've given me yet." Jack swallowed, but her gaze didn't part from his.

"Yours don't sound like award-winning material either." He wanted to smack himself, what the hell was he saying?

"You were jealous, Toombs." She said it again.

"So, what if I was?" He lifted his chin slightly, looking down at her from a sharper angle. The sun hit her hair and face in such a way that made her look not quite like an illuminated angel or any of that clichéd crap, but just almost ethereal.

"There's no need to be jealous." She was nearly whispering now.

"And why's that?" She knew he was pulling off his gloves, but she was captured there, she couldn't look even if she tried.

Suddenly, one of his hands rested on the left side of her face, his un-taped hands warm against her cold skin. Jack let her eyelids flutter shut for a moment as she leaned into the warmth ever so slightly.

"Why, Jack?" He asked again.

"Because," she stepped closer to him, her hands traveling up the front of his coat as his other hand snuck around her waist, gently pulling her flush against him.

Riddick rounded a corner and the remaining rays of the sun struck his sensitive eyes. But something was there, there were two figures blocking out a portion of the setting sun.

He heard the voices.

He saw the figures.

And he knew.

Not feeling betrayed, but instead quite alone, Riddick watched and listened on, the pain of the sun forgotten.

"Because," Jack started again, stronger. "I'm yours, Toombs. Always have and always will be." And without warning, she snaked her hands up behind his head and pulled him down into a kiss.

If she had been cold, she certainly wasn't now. Jack felt a molten heat that was both fired and cooled by his touch. Deepening the kiss, he knew this was what he had waited for. In the back of his mind, something growled, something ticked, but he was completely focused on Jack.

Toombs had slipped his hand into her coat and rested it on her waist when they finally broke apart. Her green eyes sparkled as her hands fell to his chest, resting there. Neither could really place what had just happened, and both knew that if the tension had gone on, something worse might've happened.

Her gaze transfixed on his eyes, Jack knew she had never felt happier. Finally she had found security, finally she had found her other half and someone she could depend on. She wasn't alone.

Still aglow from the kiss, Jack barely felt the wind change but Toombs saw her glittery gaze turn to ice and knew he should've listened to the tick in his head.

Holding her breath, Jack turned her head.

"Oh god, no," she gripped hard to Toombs and he felt her entire body tense.

Riddick stood there, not sure why he hadn't moved, why he hadn't left. He had been spotted, he could smell Jack. There was surprise, shock and then something he hadn't expected. Concern. He was still frozen into the ground.

"Riddick!" Jack broke away from Toombs' hold and began to run to him. Like a startled predator, he backed away but didn't bolt. He wasn't afraid, just surprised. She slowed and her boots noiselessly walked over the snow.

He straightened his back.

"Wait, Riddick." Was all she said. He let her approach, but as usual she kept her distance. She had always known where to stop.

"Jack," he warned when she ventured a step closer.

"Please, don't run." She spoke softly, a voice that his beast immediately warmed up to. She had spoken that way sometimes on the skiff when he was irritated and he had calmed almost instantly. And somehow it didn't surprise him that she knew exactly what he had been going to do.

"Toombs?" He asked.

"Knows. Has known for a while and hasn't gone after you yet. It's not that way anymore, Riddick." She answered without hesitation. Let him hear, smell, and see the truth.

"He's a merc."

"What am I? Not a merc, I'm not licensed, so I'm a bounty hunter. Not much of a difference." Jack wasn't afraid, she never had been.

"Trained him well," Riddick noted after a few long seconds of silence. She knew he hadn't moved an inch since she left him farther up the street.

"He doesn't take chances like that." Now the silence went even longer. "We should meet, talk."

Riddick didn't want to agree to this, but it was the least they both deserved. To settle old scores, to just straighten it all out. But he let out a low growl when Toombs approached them, and Jack turned to face him.

Before Jack even turned back around a few seconds later, Riddick was gone.

**Know it was a short chapter, but wanted to make sure people realized it was still going!**

**More action next, but I had a feeling this chapter was being waited for. Hoped it was up to the expectations. **

**-Shamrock**


	13. Chapter 13

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 13**

Riddick watched from above as Toombs reached Jack's side, slipping an arm around her waist. She immediately responded, leaning into him and nuzzling his shoulder. A growl accompanied with a smoky puff of air emitted from Riddick and he knew that somewhere, he was jealous. He couldn't understand how Jack would ever find comfort in _his_ embrace, in a _merc's_ arms. But when he saw Jack's sweet smile from his perch on the roof of the building, when he saw her gently kiss Toombs, he knew that her feelings should be the last thing he should question.

He followed them back, not sure whether he was doing it to make sure Jack stayed safe or doing it just to watch her after all this time. The snipe pictures hadn't done her justice. When he had seen her standing in the snow, neither he nor his beast could ignore her natural beauty. There was indeed an air of danger to her, but that made her all the more attractive.

His head was bowed when the door to their ship closed and he breathed deeply, wondering how different it could have been he hadn't abandoned her all those years ago.

"Doesn't really seem all that cold anymore, does it?" Jack wondered aloud as she shed her coat, taking out the heating replacement part.

"Hm, give ya three choices as to why it isn't." Toombs stretched his arm out and caught the extra fabric of Jack's sweater, using it to pull her to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, content to simply be held.

After a few calm seconds, Jack buried her face in his shoulder, gripping to him tightly. He knew she was thinking about Riddick, about what had just happened. He could only hope he could distract her from it.

"Jack, hey, look at me." He pulled back slightly and at first she didn't, her stubborn nature keeping her head down. But as he rubbed the back of her neck, she looked up and he saw open worry in her eyes. "This doesn't change a damn thing and he can take care of himself, you know that."

"What if he gets to you? I mean," she swallowed and breathed shakily, "I don't think he will, but I don't want something to happen to you. I don't want _anything_ to happen to you, Toombs. You're the only person who has ever stuck with me and now with this, I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt because of me."

"And you don't think I can take on old badass?" He was happy to see her smile at that. "You don't got to worry 'bout me, Jack, promise."

When she looked at him again, he saw something different. It was a thoughtful look, but he saw something burning behind it, but he couldn't identify it. It was a look he knew that only women could have, an all-knowing one. It was completely silent in the cold room as she pushed his coat off his shoulders, the fabric pooling on the ground.

More clothes followed and soon Jack was standing only in her pants and bra, her skin exposed to the cold air. Toombs pulled off his shirt as he followed Jack to their room and reached for her hand, unable to be physically apart from her.

She sat facing him on the bed, her legs around his waist and ankles locked behind his back. As he kissed her, moving from her lips to her neck, he nimbly undid Jack's braid and he marveled at how soft it was. Her growls and mewls spurred him on and he gently lowered her to the mattress, one hand behind her head and the other at her waist.

She propped herself up on her elbows and responded to his kiss, pulling him down on top of her as her head went back to the mattress. Toombs slid the straps off her shoulders, wanting her to take off the garment. As if listening to his thoughts, she easily unhooked it and tossed it to the floor. With new territory to explore, he left her lips and moved down. He couldn't understand how she was so sensitive and responsive to every touch, but he did take full advantage of it. She had gone too long without pleasure, too long with this tension.

"Raiding party isn't a half bad idea," one of them said, setting down his glass on the table.

"Aye, but some fight more viciously when their home is threatened, better we catch them unawares in the open." Another voice joined in.

An argument soon broke out but was silence when doors were slammed open, spilling outside light into the dark room. All looked up to see a heavily breathing man, looking excited.

"Well, what's this about? Didn't you ever learn some manners, like knocking?"

"You don't just knock with this sorta info." The newcomer let the doors shut behind him as he walked to the table. Pulling a file out of his coat, he tossed it to the table and pictures spilled out.

"Holy Christ almighty, that better be who I think it is." The first voice broke the silence.

"It's the old bastard, no doubt." The newcomer confirmed it.

"What's this got to do with our new catch?" Another voice asked.

More pictures were tossed out and a hand reached out and picked one up. It was a romantic scene, two lovers holding each other. But it was saddened by another figure, watching from a distance. A very identifiable figure.

"What are you gettin' at?"

"We get her, they _both_ come. Think about it, the bounty for Riddick, Toombs and Caliber? We'd never have to even think about working again."

"Sounds good to me. What do ya say, boys?" He raised his glass up and all the other glasses followed. "To fortune!"

"To fortune!"

The glasses clinked and for a moment there was silence, the glasses slamming back down to the table breaking it.

She awoke to a steady heartbeat beneath her ear. It didn't take her long to place where she was, but a blush crept up her cheeks as she remembered the night before. Trying to ignore it, she raised her head and looked up at Toombs, who slept on, oblivious to the world. But he still had one arm securely locked around her waist. His other hand was entwined with hers and rested over the blankets.

Jack lay her head back down on his chest and just as she was going to close her eyes, she felt him move and begin to wake up. It was probably on a subconscious level that he felt her move and to make sure she was alright, he woke too.

Her green eyes watched his open, the focus taking a bit of time to kick in. Jack smiled softly at him as he finished waking up, his arm falling from her side when she sat up and leaned over him, one arm on each side of him.

"Mornin'," he sat up and without warning, took her head in his hands and kissed her. She pulled away breathless, with a slight glare in her eyes.

"I'm thinking it's more like afternoon." She finally replied, scooting closer to him. Toombs pulled her up onto his lap and leaned his head against her bare shoulder, never feeling more content as she kissed his head and rubbed her hand through his hair.

"Hm," he rumbled, sending vibrations through Jack. "This vacation was a good idea." He heard her snort.

"Remember whose idea it was, too." They sat in silence for a little longer until she spoke again. "We can't hide in this ship forever, you realize."

"We can certainly damn well try." He sat up again and looked up at her. "Right, Riddick."

"There isn't one reason for you to be jealous. You know," she pushed him down to the mattress, moving her legs to straddle him. "I completely belong to you." She leaned down and kissed him, her tongue snaking its way into his mouth as she pushed her hips into his.

"Jack," he breathed heavily after they pulled apart. "At this rate we just won't be able to get off this damn ship."

"And I don't give a damn," she kissed him again.

The sun had set and the cold winds whisked through the streets, stinging any exposed skin. This left the area mostly empty, people preferring to stay indoors in the warmth. Yet one stood on a corner, looking nearly like a statue but small puffs of air were the only sign that this person was alive. He turned his head and watched as another figure approached.

The oncoming person lifted their head and tried for a weak smile but nothing came. Continuing to walk, the figure didn't stop until it had reached the corner.

"Jack," he grunted.

"Riddick," she nodded politely. "I'll follow you."

Nothing more was said as she silently walked behind him, her pace never faltering. They both moved swiftly, as if the snow weren't there at all. After many minutes of walking, turning corners and checking larger empty streets, Riddick opened a small door that he himself barely fit through and Jack followed, not needing to check to know that no one was there. She would've felt it.

He shut the door behind her and as she took off her coat, she heard the thudding of bolts and locks. Riddick came around from behind and stood on the other side of the small wooden table that was the only piece of furniture in the room. A door about the same size she had come in through was at the back of the room, but it was dark and she couldn't see in.

"Have we even lost the civility of using chairs, Riddick?" She teased warmly and it broke the tension in the room.

"Well without a princess to serve, there didn't seem to be a need for such…"

"Frivolities?" She finished the sentence for him, looking around the warm room. "How does it stay this warm with no fire? Or electrical heating?" Riddick watched as she pulled off one glove and ran her hand down the wall. "Ah, this is reinforced clay, there are heating tubes behind?"

"You always figured it out on your own," he answered, shouldering off his coat.

"Indeed," she pulled off the other glove and took the pair and pulled it through her belt. "Thanks, by the way."

He looked up at her and finally a real smile broke through on her face and his beast purred contentedly at the sight. Riddick broke the scene by moving into the other room and bringing out two collapsible stools. Jack smirked as he set them up, go figure he would have something that was never permanent, no even chairs.

Sitting down, she breathed deeply. For years she had wondered if this would even happen, and if it did, what would she say? Jack had planned numerous dialogues, some angry, some pathetically sad and some just happy. But she couldn't even find a place to start.

"You've changed," he started and Jack couldn't be more thankful.

"And you haven't. Can't even begin to settle down," she gestured around her.

"That's where you're wrong, kid." He ignored her instant scowl at the nickname. "Won't tell you where, but I've got a place that I've lived in for more than a year."

"No wonder you've been completely off radar." She traced an invisible design in the grain of the wood table.

"You're making a nice fortune for yourself. Thinking about settling down?" She could tell he was making an effort, but there was definite interrogation behind the question. He wanted to know if she was going to settle down alone or with Toombs.

"We don't know yet," she could smell his jealousy at the word 'we'. "Toombs just has it in him to hunt, to be a merc. Things might change."

There was silence, the two of them basking in the heat of the room. It was comfortable, but strange. Jack wondered how civil could a conversation be between them after all that time, anyway?

"So it's true what the Holy Man said, you left the night you got there." Riddick wasn't looking at her, anticipating her fury.

"Damn straight I did. Walked through the rain, Toombs housed me and then after a series of…less than likable events, we were a team. We haven't split since," she emphasized certain words that became thorns in Riddick's beast's paws.

"Why didn't you stay? I told you stay!" He growled at her and became frustrated at her lack of fear.

"_You_ were the one I wanted to stay with! You! I was angry that you didn't bring me with you so I hightailed it outta there and I'm fucking glad I did." She snarled back, figuratively baring her fangs.

"And now you're some merc's whore," Riddick spat.

Before the words had rested in the air for even a second Jack launched herself across the table and slammed him to the floor, with a handgun pointed at his head. As he began the move, he felt a boot blade dangerously close to beneath his belt.

"He isn't just some merc and I thought you wouldn't have been stupid enough to say that." She was furious and her beast roared within her.

"He's hunted me for more than half my fucking life, Jack, and you don't think I'll be pissed that you're screwing him!" He yelled and he knew he caught her off guard with such an exclamation. Her eyes iced over, but she didn't move an inch.

"Stay away from me, Riddick. And stay away from Toombs. You hurt me once, I'm not letting it happen again. If I ever want to see you again, I'll find you. I never want to be able to feel you watching me. Never." She spoke with quiet conviction, but her words cut all the same.

"Jack," he was cut off by her fingertips resting on his lips. He couldn't ignore how surprisingly soft they were, but he kept his silence.

"Just stay away. Please." She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, he saw the glimmer of tears. Before he could make a move to comfort her, she raised her hand and slammed the butt of the gun into the side of his head.

Trying not to shake, she stood and grabbed her coat, clumsily fastening the buckles. Before she left she threw Riddick's coat over him, in case the heating went off. Biting her lip, she glanced at the darkened room. Thinking of Toombs, she resisted the temptation and swiftly left, the door locking shut behind her.

"Well, she's alone." A voice crackled in through the radio.

"We could get her now, she's far enough away from the ship and there's no sign of Riddick." Another agreed.

A weary sigh could be heard through the connection. After a few moments of silence, the voice spoke.

"Take her. Dart her first, there's no other way we can get her."

Sounds of set up could be heard.

"Permission to take the shot, sir." A voice finally came through.

"Permission granted."

Jack hurried through the dark streets, the moonlight only lighting up the snow so much. She was so eaten up by what had just happened that she processed the feeling of being watched too late. She slowed for a moment then felt a piercing pain in her neck.

Jack realized with horror that she couldn't even check to see if it was a dart. Her neck wouldn't move, her hands couldn't even grip a weapon, she was sure. As a strong wind blew by, she couldn't brace herself as she fell into the snow, hitting the ice patch hard.

Her voice was frozen as was everything else in her body, so she couldn't shout when she saw armed men approaching her. Why the hell had she been stupid enough to knock Riddick out? He probably would've followed her and kept her safe. And Toombs, what was going to happen? Unable to even move the slightest, fear took over her mind and her tears stung the bloody and scraped jaw that had hit the ice.

Jack felt powerless when a blindfold was tied over her eyes and she was lifted. She wanted to scream as the hands touched her, moving her along and then putting her on a hard floor, probably the back of a truck. She couldn't hear an engine, but by then she was swallowed up in fear.

"Fuck, that's enough." Toombs grabbed his coat and added two extra blasters to the three he carried already. And taking a page of Jack's book, took a blade that he hid in his boot. He waited for the ship's door to close before venturing out, the cold biting at his face.

He took the streets that seemed familiar and looked for any sign of her. Toombs began to double back and do closer checks, looking in the snow for hints of anything relating to her. He couldn't find boot prints, much less anything definitive.

Crouching down, he was observing a snow patch when he smelled something.

Blood.

Moving across the ground, he saw it. On a patch of ice there was blood, freezing into the hard snow. Toombs pulled out a sealed test tube and scooped up the blood, stowing it on his belt. This was how he tracked bounties sometimes. To make sure that he was hunting the right guy. He couldn't see any other clues in the moonlight, but carefully combed through the surrounding area.

He hoped that he would go back to the ship and either Jack would be there or if she wasn't, this wasn't her blood. He stood and looked down at the area as a whole, looking for signs of a struggle.

Someone had been lying on the ground, but then there were many pairs of footsteps, not just one. Someone had been taken away. Toombs was about to crouch again to inspect one of the boot prints when he heard a crunch of snow behind him.

"Why the fuck weren't you watching her?" Toombs snarled, turning around. "I thought you were the big badass protector, Riddick. Why weren't you stalking her when she left?"

"Maybe because she fucking knocked me out," Riddick wanted nothing more than to shiv this bastard but if he did, then saved Jack, there would be problems.

"That's my babe, knew she was the best." Toombs smirked, but it faded as he looked down at the remaining blood.

"It's Jack's blood." Riddick confirmed his fears. "Something else…" he crouched and took a small amount of snow in his hand. He tasted some then spat it out. "They paralyzed her. My bet," he looked up at the surrounding buildings. "Sniper with a dart rifle. Took her out before she even knew it. Paralyzing with a fucking sniper, cowards."

"It works." Toombs added, his mind already working. "They kidnapped her, it's a trap. They want us."

"And her. We're the highest three bounties in the universe." Riddick tried to calm his beast. It was raging and pacing within in, wanting to find Jack.

He stared after the merc's back as he walked away, his mind deep in thought.

"Where you going, Toombs?" He called after him.

"To find her." The merc called back over his shoulder. Riddick caught up to him in a few easy strides.

"Without me? The fuck you can do it without me."

"Do what you want, but she's out there," Toombs rounded on him. "Paralyzed, probably freaking out because she can't do a damn thing to defend herself. I don't care about what happened, I care about what happens to _her_."

Riddick stayed silent as the merc started walking again, but he followed behind him. He knew he should not have doubted Jack's feelings. She hadn't chosen some famous merc, but someone who cared. A lot, by the looks of it. But he wasn't about to stand around and let Toombs get all the glory. After what he said, he'd be lucky if Jack would even talk to him once she was saved.

**So! Finally! A chapter!**

**And now, as usual, I need your help to continue: **

**a) Riddick and Toombs go their separate ways and try to get to Jack alone**

**b) Riddick and Toombs duke it out and the winner (pick one) has his way in how to find Jack and then they settle down for a bit before they go after her so they can find where she is, while doing so, they open up a bit (awww)**

**c) There is detail of what is happening to Jack and she has flashbacks of a few moments with Toombs**

**Pick one! Pick more than one, just don't pick all three. You can combine or whatever, do as you wish. Just please pick one so I can write what you want to read. Hopefully everyone will agree, too. **

**NOTE: I am very busy right now, just totally all over the place and stretched thin. So updates won't be regular, I'm sorry. But hopefully they'll be just as good as if they were. **

**-Shamrock**


	14. Chapter 14

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 14**

Jack had her eyes screwed shut, unsure whether she was doing it to keep tears from coming out or to refuse to accept the cold facts. She had been kidnapped. She had let her guard down, she had been sniped.

There were other voices in muted conversation around her, but she could feel the tone of anger and frustration through the passed words. She still couldn't move. The drug had worn off slightly, she could close and open her eyes, but it would be a long time before she could move any body parts. Trying to avoid the present, she fell back into the past.

_Lips moved down her bare stomach, caressing her skin in a way that made her ache for more. But hands held her down as she tried to press up into the gentle touch, wanting more, wanting something harder. _

_Her nails dug into the mattress as her jaw clenched tight. The trail of heat he left behind was driving her mad, it wouldn't cool no matter how she moved or rubbed. Finally the touch disappeared, but it drove her crazy to realize she was pained without it. _

_"Jack, relax, just unwind." His voice was above her. A thumb slid feather light across her lips. "Breathe."_

_In a sudden exhale, her hands relaxed and her eyes opened. The first thing she saw was his blue eyes watching her. Soon the breathing became easier and she completely relaxed against the mattress. One of his hands ran up and down her body, the heat spreading in a smooth wave over her. _

_"Toombs." The name passed her lips quietly, but he heard her. Her hands traveled from his waist up his chest, finally moving over his shoulders and into his hair. Jack pulled his body over hers and kissed him, doing all she could to be touching him. _

She jerked when a needle was jabbed into her skin and she could manage only a dry moan when the electrifying pain washed through her. She could move, but from artificial freeze, she could barely contract a muscle. Jack tried to open and shut her mouth but as she opened it a bit was shoved in and linked tightly behind her. She was still in too much pain to resist when ankle and wrist cuffs were snapped into place. But her sight cleared and she managed to ignore the burning and cold pain, so she pulled herself into a sitting position.

"Caliber, so lovely of you to join us." A man stepped forward, he wore a suit and had 'child-molesting-millionaire' written all over him. He would be the first to go. "My name is Pellon."

She growled something into her bit. At the same moment, she felt a crack beneath her teeth. Looking helpless still, she applied more and more pressure.

"Your journey was pleasant, I'm sure. At least you enjoyed last night, yes?" His eyes held a mocking stare that she hated. The men laughed around him and she was nearly seeing red.

"Who knew Toombs was even _worth_ living with, much less fuck." Another man stepped forward and Jack felt much more than anger to him as well. "At this rate, it wouldn't surprise me if you warmed Riddick's bed, too."

Before he could process what had happened, Jack had snapped the bit and with a sharp turn of her head, flew it through the air. It hit his face with a crack and there was blood.

"Think twice before you talk." She sounded fearsome even with a parched throat.

"Find a stronger bit!" Pellon yelled. "And lock her up!"

She locked eyes with him as she was dragged off, a bit being shoved into her mouth that was a much tougher metal. Jack grunted when they threw her into a small cell, her back hitting the wall with a resounding bang. Electronic, laser and key locks echoed behind her.

Toombs ducked a punch and bowled Riddick over to the floor. He had a few seconds to deliver a few choice jabs before he was thrown off.

Wiping blood off his mouth with the back of his hand, the merc stood, watching the silver-eyed predator fall back into a ready stance. The whole fight had started when he had assumed that it was his plan they would use to rescue Jack. He didn't want to fight, he just wanted Jack back. He needed to feel her in his arms again, safe from harm.

So far, neither of them were winning.

"Give it up, merc, I'll get her and you can be my half-assed backup, not that I'll need any." Riddick growled, wondering how Toombs had lasted so long against him. Jack had probably incorporated some of her moves into him, her moves that were originally his.

"And you think she's gonna take kindly to ya after she _knocked you out_?" Toombs shot back.

He had a point. Jack would even be stubborn enough to not accept help from him.

"We're using my way and you're gonna open one of those bottles," he pointed at a crate. "We're gonna plan, pull this off and then deal with this drama shit."

Riddick growled. He didn't take orders from anyone. Yet suddenly in his mind's eye he saw Jack tied and gagged, tortured and alone. This wasn't about them, it was about her and he wanted to see her safe again. Toombs watched as his once arch-nemesis went through the thought process.

He himself could barely describe how badly he wanted and needed her.

"No drink, just plan." Riddick finally said and they sat, with a lot of blank paper and writing tools. It would be a long night.

Toombs laid out his basic plan and he worked, sketching escape routes from hologram maps. Riddick just sat and thought, able to put everything through and in his head. It was safer for a convict to do that and in the beginning, that's what Jack had done, too.

"What's she like?" The convict asked suddenly, making Toombs look up.

"You sick, sick sonovabitch. You-" Toombs started, reaching for his blaster.

"As a person." Riddick corrected, his eyes focused elsewhere. "Did she change?"

"A bit here and there, still an electronic geek at heart. Settled in pretty fast, though." Toombs replied, going back to working. But memories of Jack flipped through his mind and found it impossible to put pen to paper. He sat back and looked at the man he had hunted for years. "She doesn't talk about T2, much."

This interested Riddick.

"She isn't afraid of what happened there, just angry." Toombs continued, remembering their singular conversation about the topic a while back.

"No surprise there," Riddick grumbled in reply. A few seconds passed before he said anything. "Probably felt that she was led on, deceived."

"Bull's eye, Dick, that's exactly how she feels." Toombs stood up and stretched. But he sat back down and glanced over the table. "What was it like?"

"What like?"

"T2."

"She never described it?" A shake of the head. "Dark, uncertain. A ghost town of settlers that made a bad mistake. Gained a responsibility called Jack, and another called Imam, but he took care of himself."

"You know people ain't responsibilities." Toombs crossed his arms over his chest.

"She was. Runt couldn't take care of herself."

"Did you let her try to take care of herself?"

Riddick realized the merc had a point. Damn. He'd always just been there and there had never really been an alternative to the set up. Jack was helpless, he protected her.

"Cause she can. When she isn't all busy with her thoughts, that's what got her in that slave house and probably sniped today." Toombs inwardly growled at the thought of Jack in both of those situations.

"Slave house?" Riddick remembered Jack's vagueness on the topic of what happened to her between her escaping from Imam's and pairing up with Toombs.

"Yeah, it was a mess, but I got her out of there. She just sorta grew on me in the one night. I just couldn't let her go off like that, didn't feel right. Yeah," Toombs looked out the ship window into the hangar, "bunch of bullshit."

"She did the same to me but I just got out of there. Wasn't easy." The convict wasn't surprised that the merc had gone through the same emotional tie crap that had taken him completely unawares.

The pair was silent for a few minutes.

"She had a bad childhood, no wonder she ran away and tried passing as some punk-ass boy." Blue eyes rested on the empty co-pilots seat that he wished Jack was sitting in.

"We all did, don't think we'd talk to each other if we didn't." Riddick didn't know why he was just opening up like this, but he blamed it on Jack. "How bad?"

"Mother was an alcoholic, father scrambling for money, told Jack to hightail it outta there. I don't think she's looked back since." It was a decent summary.

"But least she had parents. Not-"

"Abandoned. Don't look surprised, Dick," Toombs snorted. "You think I was some prep that decided this would be fun and got disowned or something? Dammit, they didn't know what to do with me, went through every orphanage in a system in a year. Wonder what the hell they did with you. What, like, prison for babies?" Toombs chuckled, imagining Riddick as a punk-ass little horror of a kid.

"Something like that, hated foster families. Really, just shoulda thrown me in the slam." Riddick looked back on the times spent in foster homes and knew he felt more at home in a slam then he did in any of those places. Except…except he had felt that sense of 'home' when Jack was around.

"You know anything bout your parents?"

"Bitch of a mother left me strangled with the umbilical in a dumpster behind a liquor store." He barely got it out without snarling.

"Everyone's got a way of saying they love ya," Toombs knew it didn't and wouldn't make sense to Riddick, but it was true.

Riddick raised an eyebrow at him.

"Look, you think maybe she didn't want her kid to live in this world, thought something wasn't right about it. Maybe she was hidin' you from somethin', you think about that? Don't doubt that she loved ya, all mother's love their kids, even if they are fucked up on the outside. It's instinct."

"Right. What about Jack's, then?"

"Alcoholic part was the fucked up on the outside part. She probably couldn't accept that she had a kid and that she loved her. Some parents won't."

"And when did you become a family therapist?" Riddick questioned, making Toombs snort.

"It ain't about being an expert, Dick, you've just been not part of this world for too long. You just don't know some basic shit. Like that. I've seen lotsa fucked up people, a few of them mothers, and over anythin' else if someone threatens their kid, they go murderous."

"Any of those kids yours, merc?" Riddick growled, concerned for Jack's place in Toombs' life.

"_Fuck no_. World can't handle one of me." He stretched again and resumed looking out the window. "Or you, or Jack. We're a different breed."

Riddick watched Toombs, watched him just go silent at the mention of Jack. He smelled the loneliness as easily as he could smell blood. He had something special with her and it obviously caught him on edge when she was taken away from him. Riddick could guess if he were in Toombs' position, he'd feel the same, probably more noticeably murderous, but roughly the same.

"Jack's strong, she's doin' just fine." Riddick looked away from the questioning stare that came from across the table.

They talked a little more, Toombs leaving to rest when he realized he would be needing more than a cup of coffee to get Jack back. Riddick refused to sleep, but stayed up in the cockpit when Toombs went back to the bedroom.

He kicked off his boots and as he went to lay down, he smelled her. All over the bed it smelled like Jack. Images moved quickly through his mind's eye and the strong scent didn't help. Every time he closed his eyes he could only see her and he knew he would not be able to sleep. Not a snowball's chance in fucking hell could he sleep.

He tugged back on his boots and went outside to the cockpit, where the cold metal, although still resonated with Jack's presence, wasn't as bad as the bed.

"Can't sleep." He replied to Riddick's stare.

Sitting heavily down in the pilot's seat, he kicked up his feet and tried to relax. Really, how could he with his most-wanted bounty in the same room and armed? But he managed to close his eyes.

_"Jack!" He shouted into the ship. _

_"Yeah?" She yelled back, sounding busy. _

_"Bed's gettin' cold!" _

_He heard her laughter and smiled. It was around two in the afternoon and she claimed she had to stretch her legs. He was smacked for a comment about her legs and stretching, but he let her go all the same. Toombs listened to her move around the ship, but he couldn't hear her feet, so he had to listen for other sounds. She hummed, too, so it wasn't all too hard. _

_"You called, darlin'?" She appeared in the doorway, a smirk lighting her face. _

_"That I did. Bed looks small but it could use another occupant," he looked oblivious to the obvious line. _

_"You called and I came, Toombs, move the hell over, it's still cold as an icebox in here," he laughed at her pun as she bodily pushed him to one side and climbed back in, shivering. He wrapped his arms around her and she radiated contentedness. Toombs looked down at her and she felt the shift in position, so she looked up at him, a gentle smile still in place. _

_"Jack, you ain't gotta go see 'im." She sighed deeply and looked away from him, resting her head back on his chest. "While this would benefit me, that ain't what I'm gettin' at. Just seems like you always get upset 'n screwy every time you talk about 'im or see 'im." _

_"I know, it's just that I owe it to him. I ran off, just totally got up and disappeared. He just wants to know what the fuck I've been doing all this time." Jack snuggled into him even more. "You get it, right?"_

_"Yeah, yeah, babe, whatever you want." Toombs leaned down and kissed her head. "Just stay outta trouble." _

Jack grunted into the bit when she was thrown to the floor, at someone's feet nonetheless. She wasn't taking well to being treated like this and the moment she was released, if she was, she would be inflicting some serious damage.

"Caliber, we aren't pleased with the state of things. Why aren't your friends here yet?" The voice sounded like Pellon's.

She remained unmoving.

"I asked you a question!" Jack didn't see it, but he gave a motion to one of the guards and she was caught by surprise when a steel-toed boot smashed into her left shoulder. She bit down hard on the bit to remain from screaming, she had felt and heard cracks and at best, her shoulder and arm were dislocated.

She mumbled "I don't know" through her bit and Pellon looked far from interested.

"Well boys, you know the drill. Rough her up a bit, let's get some photos to send to Riddick and Toombs, get 'em fired up a bit." Before Pellon left, he kicked Jack onto her back and stepped on her left shoulder and she couldn't bite down hard enough, so a moan of pain came through.

"Sounds like she's enjoying it and we only want to please the guest! Get to work!" His echoing footsteps soon died out and the chuckles of the men around her was the last thing she wanted to hear.

Riddick didn't know if he wanted Toombs to see these pictures.

He had gone outside to check for bugs on the ship and turned up empty handed except for a folder taped onto one of the landing wheels. He snorted. He thought he had heard a rat around the ship.

But when he opened the folder the beast woke up and a rippling snarl had echoed through the hangar.

There were pictures of Jack, tortured and beaten.

He knew it was to prod them, to get them emotionally unstable so they could be caught off guard when they got to Jack and whoever was holding her. Question was, how would Toombs react? Both he and Toombs had seen a lot of torture like this, on both sides of the job, but it was different when it was someone you knew and in Toombs' case, someone he loved.

"Hey, Dick, what's takin' ya?" The merc's voice yelled from the open ramp. "Whatcha got there?" Riddick knew he didn't have a choice at this point and handed the folder to Toombs, who looked mildly confused.

"Get ready." Was all Riddick said when he walked back up the ramp, leaving the merc behind him. Leaving him to his thoughts.

Toombs could just contain his anger. Photo after photo of her body mutilated and torn, he couldn't tell if she was even alive. Her pants were ripped and bloodied and they had tied strips of cloth around her chest, in a strange manner of privacy.

Her arms were pulled above her head, her wrists cuffed and a chain pulled them up and from the distortion of her left shoulder, he could tell that in itself was painful. There were bruises spreading across her ribs, as well as cuts and in one, he could see alcohol being poured over them. But he noticed in all of them, her eyes were closed, her face completely void of emotion.

"Merc, let's go." Riddick's voice rumbled from the top of the ramp.

Toombs looked at the pictures one last time before stalking up the ramp, his rage nearly creating a tangible aura as he passed by. Riddick heard the crackling of the incinerator before blasters, handguns and a few other weapons were strapped on. The angry man appeared a few seconds later, keying the lock for the ramp.

"Those motherfuckers are gonna pay," he snarled, starting off across the hangar.

Riddick's beast couldn't agree more.

**Woo! End of chapter! It's sort of the first half of the last vote, but wanted to keep you guys interested. Hope everyone is liking it. **

**-Shamrock**


	15. Chapter 15

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 15**

Jack registered movement around her, but that was all she could do. Her shoulder blades rippled with pain every time she stirred, which dulled the bite of the cuffs on her wrists and ankles. She was blindfolded and had lost too much blood to focus on anything with sound, so she was surprised when she was lifted up and thrown over someone's shoulder. Her bruised and broken ribs burned and she coughed, tasting blood in her mouth.

"Just hold," Riddick hissed at the furious man next to him. He thought Toombs was going to commit mass genocide if he didn't stop him at this point. Those pictures had really gotten him bad and Riddick didn't want to know what would happen to the captors if Jack was dead.

"Fuck this shit, Dick," Toombs growled back and opened fire from behind a building, taking out the guards around the building they had tracked Jack to.

"Merc, I said hold!" Riddick's voice was raised but the man in question didn't hear him. "You're gonna get yourself killed and where will Jack be then?"

Toombs stopped.

"Good. I'll get us in." Riddick led the way in the shadows, over the dead guards and to the wall of the outer building. He listened through the wall and signaled for Toombs to start. The merc looked at the lock and pulled out a few tools, beginning to pick it. They couldn't risk much noise right now.

The lock dropped to the snow in a few seconds and Toombs held back, letting Riddick in first. He covered their tracks and threw the lock into a large pile of snow farther down the side of the building. He followed Riddick in and eased the sliding door shut, keeping an eye on his surroundings.

Where was she?

"Well, Caliber, looks like you've served your purpose." Pellon's voice brought her into semi-consciousness. "String her up, boys."

She couldn't manage any noise as her arms were jerked up, a chain between the cuffs that was hooked up to the ceiling. Jack just processed the feel of a ray of sunlight that crept through her blindfold. Her knees just hit the floor and she just let her body drop and moaned when her dislocated shoulder was pulled even further out of place.

"Let's give her a warm goodbye, shall we?" Before Jack could manage to tighten her muscles, a thick stick smashed into her side and she began to cough, tasting more blood and it began to drip from her mouth, over the metal bit and onto the floor.

"It's been fun." Pellon laughed and walked away, his 'workers' following him. But Jack heard a shuffle, a curse and a blaster being set off.

"You mother fuckin' son of a bitch!" She heard Toombs' voice over the groans of dying men.

He wanted to rip anyone to shreds when he saw her strung up, blood streaming from her mouth, down her neck and chest, staining the dirty cloth that covered her. His beast on the other hand wanted to do a little more than ripping.

"Get her!" He ordered and Toombs didn't need to be asked twice.

Jack fell forward when the chain was lasered, but instead of hitting the hard floor, it was a familiar and warm embrace. She let herself be carefully sat down on the floor while seemingly ungraceful hands gently eased the blindfold off, with the bit next while her eyesight focused.

"Jack, oh fucking hell…" Toombs managed to get off the cuffs with relative ease, letting them fall to the floor. "You listenin'?"

She nodded, gripping to him with the little strength she had left. Jack felt him pull away and she scrambled at first but was reassured when a warm shirt was pulled over her and his hands took away the wrapped cloth from her chest. It smelled like him.

"We gotta get goin', babe." But she held onto him, pulling him down. She pointed at her throat and he pulled a small flask from his belt and managed a weak chuckle when she eyed it warily. "It's water."

Jack ignored the dried blood all over her as she focused on unscrewing the top to the flask and taking a sip, her parched throat cracked clean with fresh water. Her hands shook as she gave the container back, but his warm ones encased hers.

"It's gonna be ok, hold on." Toombs easily scooped her up and held her close to him, her head leaning against his chest. She heard the yells of men and the nearly silent death that was Riddick. A crunch of bones, the shiv leaving the flesh, the squeak of boots through blood. "Jack, don't pass out on me, got that?"

"Yessir," she mumbled, craning her neck to see Riddick, who was approaching them. She saw his beast still unrestrained, that wild twist to his presence. "Rid-"

"Shh." In a gesture she would have never expected, he lifted his hand to her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. It was natural reaction for her to push into it and she could tell that her reaction told him she was ok. "Let's get outta here."

The walk out was literally a walk, the entire place reeked of death and Jack could only guess that the two men had a near field day with her situation. She could sense a near state of camaraderie between the two and was pleased to say the least, but she wondered what they had gone through to get to that point. She assumed Toombs had a least a few bruises and cuts to show the remnants of the fight.

They got to the hangar undetected and Jack only breathed easily when the ramp door closed. Without words Riddick went to the cockpit to start up the engines and Toombs took Jack to the back to the med bay. Just as he set her down on the table the ship rocked with the force of a hit that jarred Jack to her core. Toombs was thrown off balance and had hit his head on a counter, leaving him unconscious. She knelt next to him, ignoring her dizziness, checking his head.

"Toombs! Shit, those motherfuckers are gonna stop at nothing." She cradled his head in her lap and was somewhat relieved to see that there was no blood. Swallowing, Jack shakily stood and grabbed a few bandages and began to wrap her most major wounds. She was thrown about the small room when another hit rocked the ship. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," she snarled, tearing the bandage with her teeth and quickly fixing the knot. Jack grabbed a filled syringe off the counter and tucked it in one of her wrist bandages.

She grabbed Toombs' blaster, ran to their room where she tossed the mattress to the floor and pulled back a tile. It was their small hidden arsenal. She armed herself before bracing for another hit.

"Toombs!" Riddick's voice echoed through the small ship.

Running out of the bedroom she skidded into the main room where Riddick stood, shivs out.

"He ain't awake," Jack replied, walking towards the door, holding her dislocated arm.

"And you should be walking the other way, get out of here!" Riddick yelled.

"Shut up and start up the engines," she began to key in the code for the ramp. Riddick's hand shot out from behind her and grabbed her good arm, pulling it back.

"I'll dislocate this one if it will get you stay in this damn ship. You don't need to do this, we'll just blast off this rock." Riddick tried to edge her away from the ramp but she shook him off.

"Into a small army of Pellon's ships?! Fuck no! We take out these idiots and at least we're safe for a short time! That time we can use to get off this planet and avoid being eradicated!" She breathed heavily, her wounds making her weak. "Stay here." Jack's eyes bore into his. Promise me."

"No, I'm going, you are staying here and there is no argument." Riddick went to move past her to key the ramp down.

"Riddick, stay here." Her voice held no chance of changing her mind. "Get out of here with Toombs. If you go there, you probably won't come back and I can't do that, I can't live with that." Jack ignored the scent of Toombs on the shirt she was wearing.

"And you will come back?!" He growled out, not understanding this. He stood directly in front of her, staring down at her.

"Riddick, I'm sorry." She looked down, clenching her fists. "And tell Toombs I love him." She looked up and Riddick saw guilt but felt a pinprick before he could do anything. It was strong, whatever it was and he fell backwards as she turned and keyed in the code, the ramp lowering down. His eyesight was going blurry, but he heard another code being keyed in as the ramp shut and his voice going hoarse yelling for her.

Jack ignored Riddick's shouts and breathed deeply as the ramp to the ship locked shut. There were about twenty men, all armed and all with their weapons pointing at her. She took a few seconds to judge them before walking out into the hangar, with no weapons in sight.

"So, you want them?" She motioned back towards the ship.

"You ain't gonna stop us, bitch," one yelled back from behind the safety of crates.

"And you're going to stake your lives on that?" She called back, palming a blade in one hand and a getting ready to pull a handgun with the other. "Cause you're gonna have to get through me to get to them."

The battle started.

A man from behind shot out from the shadows, yelling with his blasters drawn. Just as he jumped to kick her down, she gracefully dipped and arched back, her knife slicing neatly across his throat and her foot following, knocking him out of the air and to the ground.

Nineteen to go.

Running forward, the blasters began to go off and she leapt into the air, back flipping through the space being fired through. One blast barely grazed her but other then that she landed atop a pyramid of crates a few seconds later, completely unharmed. Without wasting a second, she pulled out her handgun and began to fire, getting two between the eyes as they climbed up to get her. Blast fire was all around her as she fell to her stomach, grabbing a man who was climbing up and twisting his neck, satisfied at the crack and crumble of the body.

"You won't last long!" Someone shouted as she rolled off the crates, falling onto her back, her bruised and broken ribs flaring pain into her body.

"You," she stood, spitting blood from her mouth onto the ground. "Fucking wish."

Jack fell to one knee and pulled out another handgun and opened fire at the men hidden behind the crates farther from her. The pained yells were her sounds of success but the victory was short lived when someone jumped on her from above, crashing her to the floor.

He straddled her and punched her in the face, only to have the butt of her gun smash into his the side of his head. Thrown off balance, he leaned back and she slid out from under him, pulling up her gun and shooting him twice in the head.

Too late she heard the cocking of a gun and as she turned, a bullet ripped through her chest, lodging itself somewhere in her. She yelled out in pain, falling when another bullet deeply grazed the side of her leg.

Toombs shook himself awake, pulling himself up. He heard sounds of a serious fight outside. Muttering, he remembered what happened, the blasts to the ship. Jack had been sitting on the table…

His head shot up, looking for her but only small pools of her blood remained. Toombs scrambled to stand and ran out into the main room and nearly stepped on Riddick, who was lying on the floor.

"Shit, if Dick's in here…" he looked at the ramp and knew that he didn't have to check the rest of the ship for Jack. "Riddick!" He shouted, looking down at the unconscious convict. A growl emitted from the other man as silver eyes flickered open. Recognition and remembrance hit him as well and he stood, staring the ramp door. Toombs had already started in another direction, knowing exactly why the ramp wouldn't be working.

"There's another way off this motherfucking can, but I need your help, Dick, so stop with the puppy eyes and follow me!" Toombs shouted from down the hall, where he was pulling up tiles. He dropped through one and Riddick looked down before following, seeing various pipes and tanks. But he followed Toombs, only wanting to get to Jack.

Finally Toombs stopped, reaching the edge of the ship where smooth sheets of metal curved up. He crouched and with a knife, began to cut away at the edge of a tile labeled 'emergency'. But his hands shook, the blade falling out of place.

"Stand back." Riddick ordered, kneeling down. Taking two of his shivs, he edged them under the sheet and pushed down with all his weight and the tile broke free. Toombs tossed it aside and began to work at the next tile, which was the outermost one.

Jack limped, but ran all the same, firing behind her and knowing that bodies were falling. She glanced at the ship, wondering why the fuck the engines weren't going. That dosage should've only kept Riddick out for a few minutes, he would have fought it off by now. But a whizzing bullet that nearly nicked her ear brought her back into the situation and she fell behind some metal crates, breathing heavily.

She heard the footsteps of the booted men, coming closer to her small pile of crates. Clenching her jaw, she managed to look over the edge of the crate and see their positions. Without second thought, she slammed another magazine into the gun and swung around, firing at will.

The shot ricocheted into her and she saw memories as each bullet left the barrel.

-_"Daddy! No!" She screamed, being shoved out of the house. _

_"Run Jackie! Get out of here!" He left a bloody handprint on her shoulder as he pushed her down to the sidewalk before running back inside, where Jack heard her mother raging.- _

Another body fell.

-_"This is the last call for the Hunter-Gratzner, please will all remaining passengers board the ship."- _

Another yell split the air.

-_The eclipse, the fear sinking into her as screeches came from beneath the sand.- _

The men were closer, but she kept firing, her arm in pain but the numbness overtook it.

-_"We're gonna be ok, right Riddick?" She asked as they blasted through the atmosphere. _

_"Yeah kid, we will." He looked down at her huddled form.- _

The sound of the bullet tearing into the flesh was so close to her she thought it was her own. She could nearly see the whites of the eyes of her enemies.

-_"You've earned your place, fuzz skull." Toombs rubbed her head as she sat up from repairing his systems.- _

A man stepped onto the crate and she fell back, aiming up and realizing in horror that the clip was empty.

-_His hands pulled her onto him and she moaned into his mouth, tangling her fingers in his hair.- _

She opened her eyes when a body fell right next to her and looked up. Riddick's form stood on the crate, his shiv dripping. He stared down at her, goggled eyes still able to judge her.

"Dick!" Toombs' voice shouted from beyond the crates. Riddick disappeared from view and Jack struggled to sit up but the searing pain in her leg and arms kept her down. "Jack! Jack, where are you?!"

"Toombs!" She yelled, pulling herself closer to the crates for better protection. "Toombs!"

Suddenly he dropped from the top of the crates down next to her. They locked eyes but her heavy breathing broke it, making Toombs look down at her.

"Christ, what the fuck did you think you were doing?" He snapped, gathering her in his arms, but still staying behind the protection of the boxes.

"Keepin' you safe," she hissed when he pulled her closer to him, the bullet in her shoulder biting into her flesh. Just as she was about to continue, Riddick appeared again.

"You got your time, Jack, let's get the fuck outta here." He lead the way back to the kicked out tiles and she was carefully handled through the small entrance as Toombs sealed the tiles back into place, just climbing into the back hall as the engines kicked in.

Riddick manned the ship, setting up the hyperdrive, knowing that it was their only option once they got out of the atmosphere.

"She's in the med room, merc." He growled out, starting to power up the speed.

Toombs went into the med room, his breath catching in his throat when he saw her lying there, blood everywhere. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes closed.

"Hey," she managed, shifting her position. "Dose me, with the strongest shit we've got." Jack reached to the counter, grabbing a pair of large tweezers. Toombs did as he was told, knowing the next few minutes would be terrible at best.

"Inject me, in the arm." She ordered, the needle barely felt as it penetrated her skin. "Fuck," she hissed, digging the pair of tweezers into the wound, just able to feel the hardness of the bullet through the more pliable flesh. Her hands were slippery with blood and she lost her grip more than once but soon pulled out the bullet, dropping it to the floor.

Toombs immediately began wiping up blood, stopping only when her hand grabbed his shirt. They were going through the atmosphere. Clenching her hand into his shirt, she pulled him down over her and kissed him hard, taking him by surprise.

"I love you," she whispered, her breathing labored.

"Jack, no, just-" he was cut off as they were slammed into hyper drive. He fell over her and it was only minutes, but it felt like hours once they pulled into normal speed. "Alright, Jack, you listen to me," he started. But her eyes were closed, her chest wasn't heaving with hard breathing and as he stood, her hand fell from his shirt, limply dangling.

**Wooo! Another chapter!**

**Hope you all liked it, I had trouble writing it. Like, a lot of trouble. The fight scene was different, but I think it ended up ok. **

**So!**

**What will happen? Jack's dead, right? Or is she?**

**Seeing how the next chapter is the last of this story, I'd love to hear what people want it to end up as, so give me ideas and I'll use as many as I can. **

**-Shamrock**


	16. Chapter 16

**Age of Nox**

**Chapter 16**

Toombs slept on, outside the med bay, only collapsing into exhaustion after attempting to stay awake as Jack underwent emergency surgery. He tried his best to stay awake, his head jerking up when he realized he had fallen asleep. The events played over and over in his mind and soon enough, it was impossible to fight sleep off.

-_"Jack, Jackie, babe, no," Toombs just stood over her bloodied body, which lay still on the metal table. "Do not pull this mother fuckin' shit on me!" He was becoming short of breath, suddenly unable to touch her. He had gotten her into this mess, she was gone because of him, the only woman who had given all she had to him and the only woman who had ever loved him. _

_"Get out of the way," Riddick's gruff voice spooked him. The convict had silently stepped in and viewed the situation with well-controlled emotion, but Jack's laid out and unmoving body had shocked him and his beast more than anything he'd ever seen. And he'd seen all sorts of people dead, young, old, tortured, single gunshot, he'd seen it all, but seeing her motionless like that had sparked something different. _

_Toombs still hadn't moved. _

_"Get out of here! You want her to live, then get out!" He nearly yelled, but finally the merc moved, his eyes on the table the entire time.- _

Toombs twitched in his sleep and slid almost completely to the floor.

_-Finally they had gotten out of bed, Jack insisting they needed to shower, especially herself. She made a joke about Riddick being able to smell Toombs and sex all over her if she didn't clean up. Somehow, only she found it funny. _

_She had been partially dressed, as had he and all laughter fell silent when they went to shower. Jack had turned on the water while Toombs had watched her the entire time, pulling her to himself when she stepped away from the stall, wiping her wet hand on her shirt. Jack's bare legs rubbed up against his pants, as his bare chest was flush against her shirt, both creating friction. _

_Her mouth opened to his without resistance and they fell back against the wall, Jack's hands wandered, memorizing his body that she had been mapping out all of today as well as last night. Toombs held her head in one hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist, anchoring her to him. Her fingers hooked in the waist of his pants, tugging on them slightly and growling into his mouth, she let go and broke away. _

_"Still gotta shower," she breathily managed, her face flushed with the heat of the kiss. He said nothing as she pulled off her shirt, dropping it to the floor. "You can join me," she was about to step into the shower when she leaned back out again. "If you can handle it." And with a smirk, she disappeared under the hot spray.-_

Choking on his breath, Toombs awoke, glancing around suddenly. He listened, straining his hearing to see if anything had changed in the med bay. The clatter of one instrument being changed for another confirmed that the surgery was still underway.

He blinked away the sleep, suddenly remembering what she had said to him seconds before the ship had gone into hyperdrive. Leaning back against the wall, he shut his eyes and let the shaky breathes go, not even caring to suppress any tears.

--_"I love you."—_

"Gotten yourself into a fine mess this time, kid," Riddick thought to himself, carefully stabilizing her shoulder. He had easily relocated it, but it would be very tender, especially with the rough job Jack had done in getting the bullet out. The stitching was thorough and he did all he could to keep any infection from setting in.

There were multiple other injuries, many of which had cost her a lot of blood. She was on an IV, since there were no blood packs there, but rarely could anyone get them unless they broke into a hospital.

He worked through them, cleaning the one on her leg and carefully stitching it. Her hands were bloodied and scraped, as were her wrists and ankles.

Riddick breathed in deeply and looked at her ribs, the bruising and discoloring worrying him. Without a doubt one or two were broken, but her breathing would've been much worse if one had punctured a lung. He had broken his ribs a few times, more like he had had his ribs broken, by a few none-too-welcoming inmates of Butcher Bay. From what he saw, her rib injuries weren't too different and it would heal on its own.

Standing back, he rubbed his head, feeling exhaustion kick in. He'd have to get Toombs now, who had been sleeping for a better part of the time.

"Toombs! Get in here." He called out and he heard shuffling outside before the door slid open. "Take her to rest and watch her ribs."

He made no verbal note of the man's tears, but did carefully watch as the merc lifted Jack and with painstaking patience, carried her to their bedroom, never disrupting her sleep in the slightest. Riddick carried the IV from behind and set it up in the room.

But Riddick couldn't ignore the blatant mixing of Jack's and Toombs' scents in this room. He left Toombs to watch Jack, only after tossing disinfectant and bandages at him.

The door whisked shut and Toombs chuckled to himself.

"Well, Jackie, looks like Dickey boy actually does care."

She had been asleep for a long time, around a week at this point and Toombs was going crazy. He didn't understand how Riddick could go without speaking for days at a time, but he had yet to resort to the helkin. That helkin had lasted a long time and there was still about a crate left. But Riddick did laugh when Toombs related the story of how the helkin had found its way to this ship.

But finally, the tension broke.

"We gotta land soon," Toombs announced, walking into the main room where Riddick sat, looking asleep. "Dick." He looked up, a glare present. "We're almost outta coffee."

"Why were they after you and Jack?" He asked, taking Toombs by surprise.

"Not the point, I-"

"I've added it up in my head but your bounties don't fit in." Riddick narrowed his eyes.

"You've always been bad at math, Riddick," her tired voice came from the hall.

Both men whipped around and saw Jack leaning against the wall, a tired, but true, smile lit her face. She looked worse for wear, but neither could have been happier to see her. Pushing herself off the wall, she slowly made her way to Toombs, who welcomed her with open arms.

"Don't you dare do that again, we clear?" He growled into her hair, pulling her against him. As he sat down, she sat into his lap, grateful for the support.

"Riddick, thank you." She nodded in his direction and he returned it. "Truly, I'd be dead now if it wasn't for you and your…surgery skills."

"Don't worry, I haven't considered becoming a doctor." He quirked a smile as she laughed. But she tired easily and her breathing was unsteady for a few seconds, her eyes closed. It would be a long recovery.

"So what is this about being out of coffee?" She turned in Toombs' lap, looking down at him. Truly, she was more attuned to his arms wrapped around her waist. For a while, during her imprisonment, she had wondered if she would ever feel them again, keeping her safe and secure.

"What it sounds like," Toombs replied, wanting nothing more than to sweep Jack up and have his way with her, but he realized that with Riddick around, that would be more than a bad idea. "While you're recoverin', you shouldn't drink it, but we're almost out."

"Hmph." Jack wasn't interested in what he thought she should and shouldn't do, she was just happy to be alive. But she itched to shred every piece of clothing off his body and renew every passion she had felt that night. She glanced over at Riddick, who had been seeing the interaction and desires between the two of them the entire time. He didn't look all that interested either.

"Jack," Riddick started, standing up. "All I'm gonna say is that your ribs won't heal well if you're getting banged up."

She laughed outright while Toombs looked on, confused and oblivious. Riddick left them, going down into the workings of the ship to find something to do. Jack breathed deeply before turning around and straddling Toombs, linking her arms around his neck.

"Missed you," she whispered, leaning her forehead against his.

"You got no idea how much I missed you, babe," Toombs gave her a quick tender kiss. It quickly became much more and when she finally pulled away, she was breathing heavily and had to rest for a few minutes before speaking again. "Jackie, 'm thinkin' we should take it slow, just for a while," he added, relieved to see her nod.

"And I'm thinking we should lay off the business for a while, go under the radar til we this whole bounty shit wears off," Jack mumbled with her eyes closed. She felt his muscles tense as he maneuvered her around until she was being carried.

She finally opened her eyes when he had laid her down in bed, turning his back to her to take off his boots. When he faced her, their eyes locked for a minute, both drinking in the sweet sight of one another. Finally Toombs lay down, carefully gathering her in his arms. She relaxed against him, her head pillowed on his shoulder. Her eyes had closed again as Toombs weaved in his hand through her hair, gently rubbing her scalp.

"Love you, Toombs," she murmured, snuggling closer to him.

"Love you too, Jack," he kissed her head, grinning as she purred. Pulling up the blankets over them, he closed his eyes only after he was sure she had fallen asleep.

"You gonna be alright, Riddick?" Jack looked around the small cabin, clearly not pleased with the state of isolation he was putting himself in.

"I was here for a while, I'm fine." He growled at her, not surprised when she growled back.

"I just don't think this is very good for you, that's all. Rejoining the human race isn't quite the same as solitary confinement in some cabin the middle of damn freaking nowhere."

Frye flashed before his eyes and he shook his head.

"You know I don't belong out there, Jackie," he started. "It ain't my place, walking in daylight in the streets like you." He was unpacking all the things he had sealed before he left to find her.

"You ever tried?" She countered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"No and I don't plan on it any time soon." His voice was getting short and angry. Jack sighed and approached him, pulling off her gloves and stuffing them in her back pocket. He froze up as she lay a bare hand on his forearm, easing him away from the crates he was working on. Her other hand stretched up and cautiously rested on his face.

"Whatever makes you happy, Riddick. That's all you deserve." Jack whispered, standing on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. She let her hand drop from his arm and as she pulled away the one from his face, his hand shot up and grabbed it, holding her there.

"Stay outta trouble, alright?" His silver eyes bore into hers.

"I will." Jack smiled up at him. She curled her fingers around his thumb as he did around her hand. "I'll be good."

Riddick brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed her hand, only after letting her hand drop and pulling her into a hug. Both stood for a moment, silently thanking each other for everything. They broke apart and Jack took out her gloves, fastening them after she put them on.

"Hey," Riddick suddenly said, making her look up. "If that merc-"

"Toombs," she corrected.

"If that merc gives you any trouble, come here, got that?"

"You sound like some badass older brother, Riddick. But I will, don't worry." She gave him one last smile. "See you around, then."

He nodded in return, watching her turn around and walk towards the door. Just as she opened it he called out to her one last time, making her turn. He threw something at her which she caught in midair, her gloved hand closed around it. She looked down at it and smiled, stowing it away beneath her coat. He saw the white flash of the bone shiv as she re-buckled her coat.

The door locked closed and Riddick saw another chapter of his life come to an end.

"Took ya long enough!" Toombs exclaimed as she walked on board, shaking the snow from herself. "But we're completely restocked and refueled."

Jack didn't answer until she had unbuckled her coat and laid it over a chair, trying to warm up. He frowned, sensing her unhappiness. He sat for a few more seconds and watched her, about to stand when she crossed the distance in a few steps and nearly fell into his lap. She buried her face in his neck and began to shake, her quiet sobs the only noise in the room.

"Shh, Jack, it's alright, it's gonna be alright," Toombs soothed her, whispering in her ear. "You're gonna be just fine, babe, it's alright." He continued this until she was still, a few sniffles the only evidence that she had been crying.

"He's all alone up there! What if somethin' happens to him? No one would ever know!" She exclaimed, clenching her hands in his shirt.

"I don't think that's true, Jack."

"What do you mean?" She pulled away from him and looked down, his blue eyes concerned.

"You'd know. Somethin' would happen and you'd know. Two of you are tight enough to just…" he gestured vaguely with a hand. "Instinct shit…you get me, right?"

Jack laughed and nodded.

--_A few days later—_

"Wake up," Toombs growled at her, making her blink a few times. She grumbled and stretched, forgetting she was sleeping directly atop him until he hissed and grabbed her hips. "Without torturin' me, Jack."

"Why the hell are you gettin' me up anyway?" She moved off of him and swung her legs around, her feet hitting the cold floor.

"You'll see," he sat up and copied her actions, instead pulling her back into his chest as he sat on the bed. Still half-asleep, Jack lay her head on his shoulder, kissing his neck. She remembered that he had come to bed later then her, smelling a little strange. Not bad, but it was a scent that was from a long time ago and she couldn't place.

"So what reason am I up?" She asked, standing upright. Toombs followed suit and said nothing, pushing her out of the bedroom.

Rubbing sleep away from her eyes, Jack was instantly hit with the name of the smell.

Pine.

Looking around, she grinned when she saw a small pine tree, haphazardly decorated and various blinking strings of lights wrapped around the ship's pipes.

He hadn't forgotten Christmas.

"Toombs!" She turned, finding him right behind her. "It's perfect!" Jack pulled him down into a passionate kiss, breaking only for air.

"You really like it?" He looked around, pleased with his work.

"Nothing could be better." She replied, eyeing the presents on the floor. "But…I couldn't get you anything." Jack looked back at him and he shook his head.

"You gave me you, Jack, that's all I want." This merited him another kiss and soon they sat on the floor, next to the small tree. "So go ahead, open 'em."

Jack inspected each, finally picking a larger one. Toombs laughed as she tore at the string with her teeth and treated the paper in just about the same way. But he couldn't resist grinning when she opened it and looked confused. Jack reached in and pulled out a small piece of paper that was folded in half. Opening it, she read aloud,

"Try the next one."

"Well, get to it!" He gestured at the rest of the presents. It took her about fifteen minutes to go through the all of them and about ten open boxes lay on the floor, all with the same piece of paper in them.

"Is this your way of avoiding finding a gift for me?" She smirked at him, inwardly pleased with his lazy and creative streak. "Cause this one says the same as the rest and I don't see another box."

"You sure?" He looked genuinely confused.

"Yeah I'm sure!" She looked under the small tree again, the pine scent sticking to her clothes. After a few minutes of searching, she turned back to him. "There isn't one other box, Toombs."

"Why don't you try this one?" He pulled a small box out of his pocket and tossed it at her. It had different wrapping, definitely professional.

Jack took her time, sliding her nail under the wrapping, not ripping it once. Pulling away the paper, she saw a small black box, the outside soft to the touch. Realization hit her fast and hard. It was velvet. Biting her lip, she slowly opened the box and let out a soft gasp at what lay inside.

"Jack," he moved closer to her, wrapping his hands around hers. "Will ya marry me?"

Smiling, she looked up into his eyes and nodded, not trusting her voice yet. Jack watched him take the ring from its soft bedding and slip it onto her finger, the diamonds safely embedded into the band. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, knowing that the feeling of pure elation was in both of them.

"Love you, Jack," he kissed her again.

"Love you too, Tums."

- - - - - - -

**And that, my readers, is the end of Age of Nox. I hope everyone enjoyed it and I'll tell you it was one of my favourite ones to write. **

**I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed (njrd, thanks for everything). **

**And of course, if anyone has ideas for a next story for me to write, tell me in your review! **

**Thanks again, everyone. **

**-Shamrock**


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